Afghanistan: Downing of chopper
In the most recent blow to U.S. operations, the U.S. Military lost 17 troops (Navy SEALs?) who were aboard a special operations helicopter that was downed by hostile fire to the west of Asadabad. The article claims that the Afghan insurgency is now widening rather than winding down and may soon reach Iraqi levels of intensity. A number of bloggers are discussing the significance and implications of the incident.
The Betamax Guillotine suggests the shooting may be from the Chechen playbook:
While it's impossible to tell what happened at this early stage (and it may be impossible to tell what happened from CENTCOM's after-action report), this sounds like it could very well be a strategy straight out of the playbook of the Chechen rebels: Ambush and pin down ground force away from artillery support and in bad weather conditions (to lessen effectiveness of air support), hug ground force to lower probability of aerial assault both with the end goal being to draw in helicopters and shoot them down. The Chechens (and the Afghans mujaheddin before them) have used similar tactics against the Russians.
The Left Coaster wonders why the military, with its modern equipment, has been unable to tract the aircraft and provide a report on who was aboard:
Every family of every person serving in Afhganistan instantly worried and is still worried sick this very second about their loved ones. It’s been an extremely difficult 19 hours for them. Please tell us the fate of our service people on that helicopter now. After the treatment Pat Tillman got I simply assume the military lies when it feels it needs to, and with the timing of the Chimperor’s speech yesterday I’m positive we’re being lied to—again.
Rubicon places the crash in a wider perspective:
The problem is not Iraq. The problem is not Afghanistan. The problem is empire. The care and nourishment of the US empire requires soldiers stationed around the globe—as of 2001, about 475,000 people at 725 bases from Iceland to Australia . . . It's time to bring the troops home, all of them. Bring them home from Germany and Japan, from Iceland and Australia, from Iraq and Afghanistan. We do not need an empire—and if we insist on maintaining one, the blowback will eventually be truly catastrophic.
The Betamax Guillotine suggests the shooting may be from the Chechen playbook:
While it's impossible to tell what happened at this early stage (and it may be impossible to tell what happened from CENTCOM's after-action report), this sounds like it could very well be a strategy straight out of the playbook of the Chechen rebels: Ambush and pin down ground force away from artillery support and in bad weather conditions (to lessen effectiveness of air support), hug ground force to lower probability of aerial assault both with the end goal being to draw in helicopters and shoot them down. The Chechens (and the Afghans mujaheddin before them) have used similar tactics against the Russians.
The Left Coaster wonders why the military, with its modern equipment, has been unable to tract the aircraft and provide a report on who was aboard:
Every family of every person serving in Afhganistan instantly worried and is still worried sick this very second about their loved ones. It’s been an extremely difficult 19 hours for them. Please tell us the fate of our service people on that helicopter now. After the treatment Pat Tillman got I simply assume the military lies when it feels it needs to, and with the timing of the Chimperor’s speech yesterday I’m positive we’re being lied to—again.
Rubicon places the crash in a wider perspective:
The problem is not Iraq. The problem is not Afghanistan. The problem is empire. The care and nourishment of the US empire requires soldiers stationed around the globe—as of 2001, about 475,000 people at 725 bases from Iceland to Australia . . . It's time to bring the troops home, all of them. Bring them home from Germany and Japan, from Iceland and Australia, from Iraq and Afghanistan. We do not need an empire—and if we insist on maintaining one, the blowback will eventually be truly catastrophic.
posted by Karlo at 5:21 AM
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