Topic 55 of 108: War in Afghanistan
Sun, Sep 23, 2001 (22:59) |
Paul Terry Walhus (terry)
The buildup to war has begun along with the hunt for terrorists and Osama
bin Laden. What moves are being made? What will happen to the
prisoners? Will there be tribunals? Will it expand?
15 responses total.
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 1 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Sep 23, 2001 (23:00) * 16 lines
Here's the oft talked about Peshawar Frontier Post article saying that
Osama has gone to the Wakhan, but as you can see it's basically just a rumor:
http://frontierpost.com.pk/main.asp?id=2&date1=9/21/2001
Meanwhile, the military has declared a state of emergency in Pakistan,
and the former king, Zahir Shah, is appealing for an emergency grand
assembly for Afghanistan:
http://frontierpost.com.pk/afghan.asp?id=2&date1=9/23/2001
US planes have landed in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, despite previous
Russian and Uzbeki denials that they would cooperate with staging.
It's beginning. Where will this war go?
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 2 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Oct 12, 2001 (20:16) * 5 lines
Here are the plans of the Northern Alliance to retake Kabul in the
London Times.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2001350006-2001354120,00.html
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 3 of 15: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 12, 2001 (21:15) * 1 lines
More press giving aid and comfort to the enemy by telling them what we are doing minute by minute? I think I better retreat to the sanity of Geo and science.
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 4 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Oct 18, 2001 (09:27) * 3 lines
Allied bombing leaves Taliban frontline intact
One week of US bombing in and around Kabul has disrupted Taliban logistics and communications, closed down air operations and inflicted some 200 military casualties, according to opposition intelligence sources. However, it has also had the effect of forcing hundreds of Taliban and allied troops out of the city onto what is now a significantly reinforced front line to the north.
15/10/01
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 5 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Oct 26, 2001 (14:21) * 41 lines
GULBAHAR DISPATCH
Playing Games
by Elizabeth Rubin
Post date 11.25.01 | Issue date 11.05.01
Yesterday, in a field encircled by willow trees and surrounded by
close to a thousand men of all ages, a dozen whip-wielding horsemen
cantered around and into each other, grabbing after the carcass of a
headless goat. A burly man in knee-high sheepskin boots, baggy woolen
trousers, and a thick, black wool cardigan that barely stretched over
his shoulders, hunched over the headless sack of goat he'd hitched
between his horse's belly and his stirrup and managed to gallop to the
edge of the playground, around a flag post, and back into center field
to bulldoze his wild, dusty white horse through the others and drop the
goat into one of the two pits that serve as goalposts.
....
A little further south, across the Bagram airfield about 35 miles
north of the capital, every night this past week you could watch dozens
of Taliban pickups moving supplies and men to the front line. Yet U.S.
planes were nowhere in sight. Why, the commander asked, is America
bombing Kabul and not the front lines?
It was something of a rhetorical question. It's well known that, since
the beginning of the war, Pakistan has been pressuring the United
States to avoid bombing frontline Taliban troops in order to prevent
the Northern Alliance from marching on Kabul. What the commander really
wanted to know is why the United States still supports Pakistan when
everyone, he said, knows that Pakistan is the source of both the
Taliban and international terrorism? Why didn't the United States bomb
the terrorist training camps in Pakistan a long time ago or stop its
madrassas from pouring out new Taliban fighters? "We're such a poor,
destroyed country, that there are no real consequences for bombing us.
It's cheap," the commander complained. "But if America really wants to
get rid of terrorism in this region she's going to have face Pakistan."
Everywhere I turned up this last week, the sentiment was nearly the
same.
"
continued at
http://www.tnr.com/110501/rubin110501.html
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 6 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sat, Nov 24, 2001 (20:31) * 5 lines
Our killer drones.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Killer-Drones.html?searchpv=aponline
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 7 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sat, Nov 24, 2001 (20:43) * 104 lines
Some news from 'our boys' at sea. Emailed letter to Navy guys, which
is being circualted among military types, active, ex, retired.
Hello all,
I know it has been a while since I updated you but it has been busy out here
as the ship continues to pound away at the remnants of the Taliban and the
Afghani section of the Al Qaida network. The headlines pretty much speak
for themselves. The relentless pressure provided by airpower destroyed
their air defenses, command and control networks, supply lines and eroded
their will to resist. There are still a number of hard liners that are
holding out but the majority of these are non-Afghanis. We will continue to
support the Northern Alliance ground forces and attack Al Qaida strongholds.
We are making some great progress in the latter. More coalition partners
are arriving daily. The amount of naval power headed this way is
staggering. Great Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, and Japan have
ships here or they are ! enroute. Many more countries are pledging ground
or air forces. This is truly an international fight. It is sad in way that
it took the 9/11 tragedy to bring the world together like this.
The men and women of my crew continue to amaze me. We have been at sea for
60 days. Of those 60 days, only two have been days off (days without
conducting flight operations). Despite all the above, the crew gathers
around me whenever I walk around and want to know how we are doing and if we
are making a difference. They cheer with every bomb on target and our
success spurs them on to greater accomplishments. I do a weekly talk show
on the ship's TV system. It is a chance for me to chat with the crew as
they phone in to ask questions. Move over Larry King. As part of the show
I roll a weekly "greatest hits" video. The best of the bombing from the last
week. Very popular. Even the studio crew looks away from their cameras to
study each hit. I emphasize that every mission we execute is a total team
effort from ! the propulsion plant operators to the bomb assembl ers to the
administrative support personnel to the flight deck aircraft maintainers.
We have had some fun though. Two weeks ago we paused for a "steel beach"
picnic. We set up barbeques on the flight deck and cooked up steak,
chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs. The morale and welfare division set up
volleyball and basketball matches. We have these oversize tricycles that
people race on the flight deck. There were golfers, fishers, bands and,
for the first time on an aircraft carrier in quite a while, a swim call.
The Air Department lowered one of the aircraft elevators to the hangar deck
level and crewmembers were given the opportunity to jump the 26 feet from
the elevator to the water. Two thousand people literally jumped ship. Not
all at once, of course. Life boats in the water, safety swimmers, etc. We
even had sharpshooters looking out for sharks (none were seen). There is
another no fly t! omorrow. We are using this as a maintenance day so there
are no big events with one exception. Navy regulations say that if you are
at sea for 45 consecutive days the captain can authorize a special ration of
two cans of beer per crewmember. I guess I have to remind you that US Navy
ships are dry i.e. no alcohol allowed except as noted above. So tonight as
we recover the last aircraft we are going to serve pizza and BEER to the
crew. It may seem like no big deal to most of you but this is huge out
here.
In the biggest surprise of the cruise to date, several members of the NY
Yankees phoned me after Game 7 as they were flying home. I spoke to Willie
Randolph and Paul O'Neill. I was told that Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and
Joe Torre were standing by to talk but the connection was severed as Jeter
was handed the phone. They sent along their best wishes and gratitude to
the crew who were thrilled to hear that the Yankees took time out to think
of us.
We continue to fly 14 hours a day 7 days a week but the ship's activities
don't end at the end of flight operations. We are constantly gathering
intelligence, fixing aircraft and ship's equipment, preparing more of our
20,000 meals a day, navigating the ship to our next launch point. The list
goes on. TR is literally the city that never sleeps. We train constantly
to keep the crew ready to respond to any contingency and go to battle
stations for drill often shoot our guns and train our missiles. We even
impose simulated damage to provide training in firefighting and damage
control.
As many of you know the human spirit is an formidable force. It is the only
fighting reserve the evildoers in Afghanistan have left. All of us on TR
and throughout this coalition have spirit and resolve that exceeds any
quantity the enemy ashore has. But, unlike our adversary, we have some
really cool weaponry left with which to carry out our orders. The reason I
started on this spirit angle was to segue into a discussion on keeping
morale high on the ship; my primary job. The support we have received from
our families back in Norfolk has been spectacular. We on TR are blessed to
have such strong, devoted spouses. The ship has also received messages and
pledges of support from many parts of the country. I thank you all deeply.
A small gift from home whether it be in the form of a video, a CD, a snack
pack, a card, a let! ter, an email or a photograph means more than you know.
It makes the difference between a Sailor who can give a little more for the
nth consecutive day and a Sailor who can not. We could not do our job
without the unflagging support of our family, friends and the American
people. To all, you have my gratitude.
I have rambled on enough. There are some images of life on the ship at the
bottom of this email. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving. We are pulling
all the stops out here for a spectacular turkey dinner with all the
trimmings. Please stay in touch as our deployment progresses.
Best wishes,
Rich
CAPT Rich O'Hanlon
Commanding Officer
USS Theodore Roosevelt
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 8 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Dec 2, 2001 (07:04) * 39 lines
The specialist on Afghan water tunnels is John "Jack"
Shroder, a geology professor at the University of
Nebraska, who made the headlines by recognizing the
rocks in a OBL video. He is a former director of the
National Atlas of Afghanistan.
The Russians only surveyed the northern
part of Afghanistan. Shroder's team did
the rest.
http://europe.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/10/18/ret.shroder.c
nna/
"Consider the Zhawar complex in Paktia province. In
1986, the compound withstood 57 days of bombardment
before the mujahedin finally abandoned it. The advancing
Soviets were astonished by what they found inside."
"Mujahedin rebels had built an underground mosque with
an ornate brick facade; a hospital with an ultrasound
machine; a grease pit occupied by a T-34 tank; a library
stocked with books in English and Farsi; and a
subterranean hotel furnished with comfy chairs and plush
carpets."
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 9 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Dec 2, 2001 (07:04) * 49 lines
""How many of our aircraft had worked this site over and
the hotel and caves were still intact," marveled Viktor
Kustensko, a Soviet witness to the 1986 incident, in a
article he wrote in 1996 for Soldat udachi, the
Russian version of Soldier of Fortune magazine."
"After being used by the mujahedin, the Zhawar compound
was occupied and expanded by bin Laden and then bombed
ineffectually by the Americans in retaliation for the
bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/attack/2001/11/06/caves-usat
cov.htm
"During the Soviet invasion, mojahedin camped in the
karez network besieged the town of Khost for almost 10
years. The town's Russian defenders ranged Scud missiles,
bombers, artillery, helicopters and commandos against
them, but could not shift them from the tunnel system.
Eventually Khost was retaken."
"They may also have been used by Osama bin Laden to
evade the 1998 US missile strikes launched by President
Clinton in retaliation for the African embassy bombings.
Some have said he escaped that attack by using
the karez near Khost."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waronterror/story/0,1361,585412
,00.html
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 10 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Jan 1, 2002 (13:28) * 8 lines
Three Sea King choppers with 20 Marines each took off from Kandahar for
Helmand between 5 and 6 pm (Afghan time) yetserday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46626-2001Dec31.html
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1737000/1737032.stm
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 11 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Jan 9, 2002 (08:17) * 6 lines
The Brits report on of the SF 'A' Teams (12 men) accounted for 1,300
El Queda dead.
http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$IR3BRZYAAAO05QFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2002/01/08/wafg108.xml&sSheet=/news/2002/01/08/ixnewstop.html
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 12 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sat, Jan 26, 2002 (02:14) * 13 lines
Wow. A special forces team with no Alliance soldiers surrounded a Taliban
compound and got in to a firefight with hand to hand combat a la
Hollywood.
The box score:
15 Taliban killed
27 Taliban captured
1 SF soldier wounded in the ankle
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020124/ts/attack_military_dc_3.html
for more details.
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 13 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Mar 6, 2002 (02:01) * 27 lines
Account of the hardcore rescue mission which led to the
seven deaths:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/06/international/asia/06FIGH.html
One of the American commandos killed was a Navy Seal, Petty Officer
Neil C. Roberts, 32, who tumbled from one of two MH-47 Chinook
helicopters that was to carry in Special Operations forces. Just as the
helicopters touched down about 5:30 p.m. Sunday Eastern time — in the
dark of night in Afghanistan, where it is 9 1/2 hours later — one of
the helicopters was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, officials
said. Both lifted off quickly and flew about a mile, where they set
down again to check for damage.
That was when they realized that Petty Officer Roberts was not on
board. But commanders had access to real-time surveillance videos shot
by a Predator, an unmanned airborne vehicle, and they saw his capture.
One of the two helicopters flew back to where Petty Officer Roberts
was lost, and dropped off its Special Operations team to try to rescue
him.
In addition, General Hagenbeck, speaking to reporters in a Pentagon
press pool in Afghanistan, said that "a quick reaction force of about
30 Special Operations troops" was also sent to rescue him. By about 9
p.m. Eastern time Sunday, two more Chinooks touched down about a mile
or so from where the Navy Seal was last seen. The opposing forces
apparently had set up an ambush and were waiting.
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 14 of 15: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Sep 8, 2002 (09:18) * 21 lines
U.S. airstrike near Asadabad
In an Afghan province known for its hostility to the West, the U.S. is hunting for a fierce Islamic military leader.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Phillip Robertson
Sept. 6, 2002 | ASADABAD, Kunar Province, Afghanistan -- U.S. aircraft opened a thunderous airstrike Friday night in the mountains southeast of Asadabad near the Pakistani border, apparently targeting the forces of an Islamic radical who may be linked to Thursday's attempted assassination of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
After a day of mounting tension here, two large explosions were heard at about 9:30 p.m. [1 p.m. EST] in a Kunar Province valley, reverberating with the deep, booming signature of a B-52 bombing run. Propeller-driven aircraft then circled the area, apparently in search of targets, and about 40 minutes later, a steady stream of helicopters were seen racing toward the Pakistani border.
Few details of the attack were immediately available. Asadabad is a stronghold of the Hizb-e-Islami party, a radical fundamentalist group headed by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, which has pressed for creation of an Islamic state in Afghanistan. On Friday morning, U.S. special forces troops raided an Asadabad hotel where a handful of Western journalists were staying, and briefly detained a reporter for Asia Week magazine.
ep
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/09/06/asadabad/index_np.html
Topic 55 of 108 [news]: War in Afghanistan
Response 15 of 15: User & (spring) * Sun, Nov 2, 2003 (22:14) * 2 lines
http://www.urban75.com/Action/news144.html
http://www.information-international.com/pdf/attack_on_afghanistan-eng.pdf
news conference 
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