Up till this week, the
ISAF had a problem with the Taliban, who were were preventing them carrying out repairs to the
Kajaki hydro-electric dam in
Helmand. Not any more, after about 11o Royal Marines from 42 Commando launched Operation Clay and persuaded the Taliban to leave their training camp in the area. It took four days of intense fighting, but Operation Clay has been a success. Only one British casualty, a marine shot through the hand, against at least 15 dead Taliban, including a senior commander. The
BBC and the
Guardian have early British press accounts.
The
Hindustan Times reports that a further three Taliban departed for Paradise earlier than expected when a mine they were laying blew up. Once there they no doubt met up with 17 of their comrades
dispatched from the
Kajaki area earlier in the week.
So about 38 Ali
Babas get their virgins and the greater part of 2 million Afghans at last get electricity. A fair trade.
Two million Afghans got electricity? Riiight. In reality, this thing called the real world, Afghans are even worse off than they were under the Taliban rule before the invasion.
ReplyDeleteThe Brits took down some poor Afghans with the help of superior firepower and airsupport. Good for them. The millions of Afghans (barely) living in makeshift huts, having to face constant starvation and seeing prostitution, drug abuse and outright despair increase every day doesn't care what some British thugs are running around doing in the countryside, at best. At worst (for the British) they join the ranks of the resistance.
The World Bank director in Kabul, Jean Mazurelle, said between 35 to 40 percent of the aid sent to Afghanistan is "badly spent." He told AFP: "In Afghanistan the wastage of aid is sky-high: there is real looting going on, mainly by private enterprises. It is a scandal. In 30 years of my career, I have never seen anything like it."
Anybody who thinks our soldiers are thugs condemns themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe Taliban are not that poor, as they demonstrated in the summer when they took on some of the best regiments in the British army.