posted
This is it folks, Northern Alliance has retaken Kabul.
The war is nearing the end!
-------------------- "George Washington said, 'I cannot tell a lie.' Richard Nixon said, 'I cannot tell the truth.' Bill Clinton said, 'I cannot tell the difference.'"
-- comedian TOM SMOTHERS, from his latest stage act with brother DICK SMOTHERS.
posted
Taking a city does not the destruction of an army make.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
Except we told the N.A. to not take the city until we had a provisional gov't ready. We'll probably fight them now, for being jerks. And cuz we like to fight people these days.
-------------------- "Are you worried that your thoughts are not quite.. clear?"
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
You're being a teensy bit too optimistic, there, BE. While I think everyone's been pleasantly surprised with how quickly the N.A. managed to mop up Northern Afghanistan, everybody's expecting the South of Afghanistan to be the real test. Not only are the Taliban better dug in there, but the whole ethnic Pashtun vs. ethnic Tajik and Uzbek thing comes into play. Keep in mind that the Soviet backed Socialist Government held Kabul for most of the war during the 1980s and they still lost.
[ November 12, 2001: Message edited by: The_Tom ]
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
The takeover of Afghanistan does not bring the US any closer to its ultimate goal: Osama Bin Ladin.
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I wouldn't say Proteus was being contradictory. There are plenty of people I've wished would die, but I wouldn't think it was right to kill them. I don't think I have the right to kill someone I don't like, but I can always hope that nature will take care of it for me.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I thought the ultimate goal is to eliminate every last terrorist and to save civilization from the scourge of terrorism. At least that is what the President keeps saying. I will be sure to remember these speeches during the first terrorist attack after the President claims the goals have been achieved.
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Let's not confuse the Northern Alliance with the "Rebel Alliance" from Star Wars. The Northern Alliance isn't perfect and uses some pretty shady tactics themselves (execution of POWs for one). Plus they have no Jedi or Princess Leias.
-------------------- "Tragedy is when I cut my finger, Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."-Mel Brooks
Registered: May 1999
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capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
Well you cant prove they dont have any Jedi.. I mean, there are thousands of Jedi in Britain and Australia, according to the last census.
But i have already heard that U.N. humanitarian reports stating war crimes are being committed by the N.A. in Mazar-e-Sharif, Taliban POWs being executed and the such. Not that anybody thinks that that is that awful in light of what happened (but if we want to maintain our moral fiber, we should), but its true that this isnt good guys vs bad guys. This is us helping the bad guys get the worse guys. Hardly good material for a war movie.
And I think that whoever ends up in charge, we'll have trouble reigning them in.
-------------------- "Are you worried that your thoughts are not quite.. clear?"
Taking capitals does not win wars. (Napoleon, Napoleon, Napoleon.) This is especially true in this case, where the Taliban is organized more like a resistance movement than a government. We can't win by smashing their chain of command because they don't have a chain of command in the traditional sense. Beyond that, the situation in the southern half of the country is much different than that in the north.
And, of course, not every goal in this conflict can be achieved through military force anyway.
posted
At least the 'liberated' folks seem thrilled to be so.
Taliban essentially driven out of the northern half of the country, when a few months ago they controlled 90% of it, their numbers and bases dwindling.
Perhaps some of the folks in the now Alliance-controlled areas know where BinLaden is hiding, hm?
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