Posts Tagged War in Afghanistan

The New Taliban Government

From The Spectator:

More than half of the members of the new government face international sanctions as terrorists. The list includes four of the five men released from Guantanamo in a prisoner swap in 2014 and four members of the Haqqani family, whose terrorist network was responsible for the largest attacks in Kabul in recent years, and who have US bounties on their heads. The failure to form an inclusive administration means that the Taliban will have to rule by force as they do not have wide consent

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Senate Votes Against Ending Afghan War

From The Hill:

The proposal, which was also sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), would remove troops from Afghanistan within a year and give them a $2,500 bonus. It would also repeal the 2001 authorization for the use of military force once U.S. troops have left the country. 

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“Attack on the Fourth of July” – Afghanistan 2009

REAL COMBAT footage in Afghanistan, “Attack on the Fourth of July”
Documentary telling the story of soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team 25th Infantry Division (Airborne) defending a combat outpost from a massive Taliban attack that took place on July 4th, 2009. This documentary is part of an EMMY nominated series that is currently airing on the Pentagon Channel. This “redux” version is in full HD and has actual footage taken by the Taliban on the day of the attack and was procured by U.S. soldiers after the battle. Produced and Shot by SSG Robert Ham.

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AMBUSH BY US SPECIAL FORCES ON TALIBAN BOMB MAKERS

From: FUNKER530

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Sgt. William J. Woitowicz, USMC

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Stunning Letter: Infantry Colonel Communiqué to Secretary of the Army

From: Micheal Yon

This is the most stunning and forceful letter I have read from the Afghanistan war.  It was written in 2010 from Afghanistan by Colonel Harry Tunnell, the Brigade Commander of 5/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

After this letter, Colonel Tunnell was investigated and the normal smear campaign unfolded.  Having been embedded with his Brigade in 2010, it became obvious that they were put into a no-win situation, with troops spread over several provinces in Afghanistan.

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Marines Repel Taliban Attack

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Dakota L. Meyer – Medal of Honor – 8 September 2009

Dakota L. Meyer (born June 26, 1988) is a United States Marine Corps veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He is the third living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, and the first living United States Marine in 38 years to be so honored.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009. Corporal Meyer maintained security at a patrol rally point while other members of his team moved on foot with two platoons of Afghan National Army and Border Police into the village of Ganjgal for a pre-dawn meeting with village elders. Moving into the village, the patrol was ambushed by more than 50 enemy fighters firing rocket propelled grenades, mortars, and machine guns from houses and fortified positions on the slopes above. Hearing over the radio that four U.S. team members were cut off, Corporal Meyer seized the initiative. With a fellow Marine driving, Corporal Meyer took the exposed gunner’s position in a gun-truck as they drove down the steeply terraced terrain in a daring attempt to disrupt the enemy attack and locate the trapped U.S. team. Disregarding intense enemy fire now concentrated on their lone vehicle, Corporal Meyer killed a number of enemy fighters with the mounted machine guns and his rifle, some at near point blank range, as he and his driver made three solo trips into the ambush area. During the first two trips, he and his driver evacuated two dozen Afghan soldiers, many of whom were wounded. When one machine gun became inoperable, he directed a return to the rally point to switch to another gun-truck for a third trip into the ambush area where his accurate fire directly supported the remaining U.S. personnel and Afghan soldiers fighting their way out of the ambush. Despite a shrapnel wound to his arm, Corporal Meyer made two more trips into the ambush area in a third gun-truck accompanied by four other Afghan vehicles to recover more wounded Afghan soldiers and search for the missing U.S. team members. Still under heavy enemy fire, he dismounted the vehicle on the fifth trip and moved on foot to locate and recover the bodies of his team members. Corporal Meyer’s daring initiative and bold fighting spirit throughout the 6-hour battle significantly disrupted the enemy’s attack and inspired the members of the combined force to fight on. His unwavering courage and steadfast devotion to his U.S. and Afghan comrades in the face of almost certain death reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service

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Afghan motorcycle bomber kills 14, including 3 NATO troops

From: USA Today

KABUL – A suicide bomber driving a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed his bike into a patrol of Afghan and international forces on Monday morning in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 14 people, including three NATO service members and their translator, officials said.

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Attack on Camp Bastion: The Destruction of VMA-211

From: Defense Media

The attack on Camp Bastion began at around 10:00 PM local time, when about 20 Taliban fighters approached the perimeter, disguised in U.S. battle dress uniforms. One of the Taliban used his explosive suicide vest to blow a hole in the perimeter fence, which reportedly allowed three five-man sapper squads into the secured areas of the base. Armed with AK-47s, RPG-7s and explosive suicide vests, the Taliban fighters flooded into the U.S. area known as Camp Barber.

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Weekend Afghan insider attack kills 4 US troops

From: Yahoo

An Afghan police officer turned his gun on NATO troops at a remote checkpoint in the south of the country before dawn Sunday, killing four American troops, according to Afghan and international officials.

It was the third attack by Afghan forces or insurgents disguised in military uniforms against international forces in as many days, killing eight troops in all.

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Maj. Samuel Griffith, USMC – Killed in Afghanistan

Maj. Samuel Griffith, USMC

Maj. Samuel Griffith

Maj. Samuel Griffith, a former F-18 driver with VMFA 533 and volunteer FAC (forward air controller) was killed in action In Helmand Provence Afghanistan on Dec 14th 2011.

More  here, here, and here

Maj. Samuel Griffith

Maj. Samuel Griffith VMFA- 533

Maj. Samuel Griffith

Maj. Samuel Griffith in Afghanistan

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V-22 Fights it’s First Gun Battle

From: Jacksonville Daily News and Danger Room

V-22

It was June 12 in the Sangin Valley in southern Afghanistan. U.S. Marines had been fighting the Taliban all day and had suffered heavy casualties, including two killed. Several resupply convoys had been turned back by enemy attack. The Marines were running low on food, water, ammunition and medical supplies.

That’s when the Marines’ V-22 Osprey tiltrotor swooped in, carrying life-saving supplies — and machine gun fire.

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Ahmed Shah Massoud

“We consider this our duty – to defend humanity against the scourge of intolerance, violence, and fanaticism.”

– Ahmed Shah Massoud

 

 

Ahmed Shah Massoud was a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the name “Lion of Panjshir”.

A Sunni Muslim who reportedly always carried a book of Sufi mystic Ghazali with him, he strongly rejected the interpretations of Islam followed by the Taliban, Al Qaeda or the Saudi establishment.

Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan the Wall Street Journal named Massoud “the Afghan who won the Cold War”.

After the collapse of the communist Soviet-backed government of Mohammad Najibullah in 1992, Massoud became the Minister of Defense under the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani. Following the rise of the Taliban in 1996, Massoud returned to the role of an armed opposition leader, serving as the military commander and political leader of the United Islamic Front (also known in the West as Northern Alliance).

On September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11 attacks in the United States, Massoud was assassinated in Takhar Province of Afghanistan by two suspected Arab al-Qaeda suicide bombers posing as journalists.

The following year, he was named “National Hero” by the order of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Shah_Massoud

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Most of the U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan were killed on Pakistan Border

“Pakistan objected furiously when a NATO airstrike along its border with Afghanistan killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on Nov. 26, while NATO claimed the attack came after a U.S.-Afghan patrol came under fire.

Now a report discloses that the overwhelmingly majority of U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan have in fact come along that border.

The CNS News report shows that a total of 1,527 American troops have died while engaged in combat in Afghanistan, and 1,089 of them — 71 percent — died in the 10 Afghan provinces that border Pakistan.

That compares to 438 combat deaths in all of Afghanistan’s other 24 provinces.

Including non-combat deaths, 1,168 Americans have died in Afghanistan’s border provinces as of Nov. 30, according to CNS News.

Since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, at least 1,172 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan, accounting for 67 percent of the total casualties in the 10-year-long war.”

http://news.newsmax.com/?Z64RXWnaQC2Q4C4lvtUUD3ESzXbfxfvAZ

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