Category: Afghanistan

Last British soldiers airlifted out of Camp Bastion as war in Afghanistan ends http://t.co/g4VHWI9hj3 (Pic: MoD) pic.twitter.com/ommcPPVryH

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 27, 2014

It is actually amazing and a testament to the quality of the Australian Defence Force considering the continuous combat operations they have been part of in Afghanistan for years now that they have experienced only their second combat casualty:

AN Australian soldier has been killed and another seriously injured in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan.

The soldier, whose name has not been released, is the first Australian to die from a direct enemy attack in Afghanistan or Iraq. His body will be returned home under constant escort.

"We’re now working on arrangements to bring the body of the fallen soldier back to Australia," Australian Defence Force (ADF) chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said.

"This will be by ADF or permanently chartered ADF aircraft and his body will be under constant escort by ADF personnel."

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) confirmed last night a group of Australians had been patrolling an area of Oruzgan province when they were targeted by militants who detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) next to their vehicle. [AAP]

The first ADF casualty was in February 2002 when a SAS soldier was killed by a landmine.  The soldier killed this time is the first soldier killed in direct attack by the enemy.  The soldier was part of a security detachment protecting an Australian engineer taskforce on a reconstruction mission in Oruzgan province.  The Australians have come under increasing attacks from the Taliban as the taskforce continues to make progress in their reconstruction mission. 

Additionally the Taliban may also be trying to test Australian political will to continue the mission before Australia’s parliamentary elections to elect their Prime Minister in a few months.  If they are I would be very surprised if the political opposition in Australia would advocate removing the ADF taskforce from Afghanistan because of casualties. 

Australian ASLAV

I think what could be the most interesting information about this attack is what type of IED was used.  The soldiers were driving in an armored ASLAV vehicle which means a very large bomb or a sophisticated EFP bomb had to be used to destroy it.  Just last month a convoy of vehicles from Iran was intercepted trying to smuggle into Afghanistan sophisticated road side bombs.  It will be interesting to see what the Aussie reaction will be if the death of their soldier is the responsibility of the Iranian government. 

Via Fortress Australia, comes some great footage of the Australian Army in action in Afghanistan:

The Australian Defence Force may have a very limited role in Iraq due to the political consequences of casualties there because of the unpopularity of the war, but in Afghanistan as this video shows the Aussie "diggers" are definitely in the fight there.  The relevant military contribution from such a small nation as Australia is putting many of our so called NATO allies to shame in Afghanistan. 

Just another example to remind everyone of the nature of the enemy we are facing:

TALIBAN extremists are reportedly phoning the families of troops fighting in Afghanistan and telling them their loved ones are dead.

The shocking news came as Taliban chiefs was revealed their ally, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is alive and well.

Afghan insurgents have been using mobile phone-hacking technology to extract phone numbers to target the families of British troops, The Sun newspaper in London reported today.

It is feared they may also target Australians, Americans and other Coalition allies.

It is amazing that some people in the US government want the US military to surrender to such people. 

Once again using anonymous sources the media is claiming that the British military wants US Special Forces out of their sector of operations in Afghanistan:

A SENIOR British commander in southern Afghanistan has called for US Special Forces to leave his area of operations because the high level of civilian casualties they had caused was making it difficult to win over local people.

Other British officers in Helmand province, in south-west Afghanistan, criticised US Special Forces for causing most of the civilian deaths and injuries in their area.

They also expressed concern that the Americans’ extensive use of air power was turning the people against the foreign presence as British forces were trying to solidify recent gains against the Taliban.

A US military spokesman denied the request for US forces to leave was made, formally or otherwise, or that they had caused most of the casualties.

No where in the article does the journalist identify one British officer making this claim so for all we know it could be the British commander of the chow hall telling this to the reporter.  Additionally the only British officer quoted and identified by the journalist had this to say:

The chief British press officer in Helmand, Colonel Charles Mayo, defended the US Special Forces, saying they were essential to NATO’s efforts to clear out heavily entrenched Taliban insurgents.

A US military spokesman said Special Forces would continue to operate in Helmand for the foreseeable future. He denied their tactics had increased civilian deaths and blamed the Taliban for fighting from civilian compounds.

So the official position of the British military in Helmand province is that the US Special Forces are wanted and will stay in the area.  So why isn’t the headline of the article labeled such?  It is because the author so desperately wants to believe US Special Forces are killing all these civilians and will quote and sensationalize anyone that feeds this belief.  Thus if the commander of the chow hall tells the reporter that US Special Forces are not wanted in Helmand Province it will become headline material despite the official British military position saying otherwise. 

This whole article sounds very familiar to the prior Taliban misinformation campaign that ended in an entire Marine unit being redeployed out of Afghanistan.  You often hear the media trumpet the "rise in violence" in Afghanistan however when you look at who is being killed 75% of the casualties are Taliban fighters.  Thus the rise in violence is actually because the US military and its allies are killing an increasing amount of Taliban.  That is why the Taliban is increasing its disinformation campaign in regards to civilian casualties.  The misinformation campaign worked to get the US Marines kicked out of Afghanistan so why couldn’t the same tactic work to get the US Special Forces, which are probably the most deadly hunters of Taliban fighters, kicked out of Afghanistan as well? 

This is just another example of the all to willing media being more than happy to aid the Taliban in this goal.   

The Taliban have attacked a US patrol base in Afghanistan and suffered heavy casualties:

A group of 75 Taliban militants tried to overrun a U.S.-led coalition base in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a rare frontal attack that left more than 20 militants dead, the coalition said in a statement.

The insurgents attacked Firebase Anaconda from three sides, using gunfire, grenades and 107 mm rockets, the coalition said. A joint Afghan-U.S. force repelled the attack with mortars, machine guns and air support.

"Almost two dozen insurgents were confirmed killed in the attack," the statement said. Two girls and two Afghan soldiers were wounded during the fight in Uruzgan province, it said.

A firebase like Anaconda is usually a remote outpost staffed by as few as several dozen soldiers.

"The inability of the insurgent forces to inflict any severe damage on Firebase Anaconda, while being simultaneously decimated in the process, should be a clear indication of the ineffectiveness of their fighters," said Army Capt. Vanessa R. Bowman, a coalition spokeswoman.

Though the Taliban suffered heavy casualties they still got the effect they were looking for, media coverage.  The media coverage has focused less on the fact that the Taliban was easily and soundly crushed in the attack and focused more on the fact that the Taliban attack the base in the first place, which is supposed to be some kind of sign of a resurgent Taliban.  This is just another small part of the information war the Taliban is fighting in Afghanistan that the American media continues to unwittingly aid the Taliban in. 

John of Argghhh! has a great posting about the Marine unit that was forced to leave Afghanistan after being accused of shooting civilians after being ambushed by Taliban fighters.  I expected there was more to this story after it happened and John has been able to provide the rest of the story.  Here is a sample:

What Really Happened at Marko on March 3?

I am a Seattle Native working on economic development in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan and currently residing in Jalalabad. I keep in touch with the new in Seattle thanks to the Seattle Times daily email for which I wish to thank you. Today, March 5, you ran an Associated Press article entitled U.S. Forces Blamed for Civilian Deaths by Rahim Faiez. That article disturbs me in that it is unnecessarily inflammatory, very biased, and not very accurate. It unjustly makes out American Marines who had just been attacked as a bunch of out of control killers firing wildly without discretion as they escaped that attack.

What really happened? Three US Marine up-armored humvees were returning to their base in Jalalabad. While passing thru a market place in a rural village, a mini-van, laden with explosives was driven into the small convoy and was detonated by the suicide bomber driving it. The Marines then came under fire from a number of positions along side the road. It was obvious that the intent of the bomber was to disable the vehicles and the gunmen to kill those that survived. The Marines returned fire as they drove rapidly away. One Marine was wounded. When the battle was over, 8 civilians were killed and 34 others, including a Marine had been wounded. The several bullet impacts on the escaping vehicles attested to the fact that they had been fired upon by gunmen; a fact that the AP reporter failed to mention. The attack seemed to have been a rather well planned one, and it appears that the planning included manipulation of the news as is often the case with both Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Make sure to go and read the rest over at Argghhh.

The Pat Tillman case has taken another twist:

Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman‘s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. […]

The documents show that a doctor who autopsied Tillman’s body was suspicious of the three gunshot wounds to the forehead. The doctor said he took the unusual step of calling the Army’s Human Resources Command and was rebuffed. He then asked an official at the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division if the CID would consider opening a criminal case.

The M-16 fires a three round burst and three wounds located close to each other would likely come from a closer source than the story that was claimed that he was shot from friendly fire by soldiers shooting from a distance.  I doubt it was criminal because anyone that wanted to kill Pat Tillman would know killing him would lead to huge headlines.

This is all speculation on my part, but I think the most likely possibility is an accidental discharge by someone that was with him.  Accidental discharges do happen and have killed people before.  An accidental discharge is a definite possibility, but such a thing happening to Pat Tillman would be highly embarrassing to the Rangers who pride themselves on being an elite unit.  If an accidental discharge killed Tillman that would not explain the wounds on his arms and legs.  I have to wonder if his unit to cover up the accidental discharge shot him a few more times in the arms and legs to give further credence to their story?

This would explain why the overall Special Forces commander at the time, the now retired Three Star General Philip Kensinger would lie to Pentagon investigator and try to cover up the case.  The embarrassment of an accidental discharge killing Tillman would be bad enough, but I don’t think it would cause a three star general to cover up what happened.  However, the unit shooting him after he was already dead in order to cover up an accidental discharge would be such an embarrassing set of circumstances, that maybe even a three star general would cover it up.

No matter what happened the Tillman case has been handled very poorly and people involved in the botched handling of this case need to be held accountable.  So far only General Kensinger has been censured for his actions, but surely more people are some how involved.  The Tillman family is owed a full investigation and all those responsible need to be held accountable.