We've heard this before. Our guys have the Taliban surrounded. There's no way out. It's surrender or die time for the insurgents. The last guy who said that was Canadian General David Fraser and, when the dust settled, he came up empty-handed still claiming a great victory but with almost nothing to show for it.
Now, according to CanWest, we've got'em again:
"HOWZ-E MADAD, Afghanistan -- There is no place to hide, and nowhere to run for hundreds of Taliban insurgents now squeezed into a box near here by NATO forces.
"They only have two options: Surrender, or attempt to fight their way out.
"Such is the situation in and around Howz-e Madad, a farming village 40 kilometres west of Kandahar city.
"Once tight-lipped about their objectives, and their chances of success, Canadian officers leading their army's effort in the campaign are practically boastful of its swiftness and its efficacy. "This is the first time we've projected (this) much combat power forward," said Canadian battle group commander Lt.-Col Omer Lavoie. "(NATO) and Afghan forces are surrounding them, 360 degrees."
"The Taliban are hemmed inside 10-square-kilometres of mud fortresses and walled farm compounds, terrain that is well-suited to their guerrilla tactics but which also makes it difficult -- if not impossible -- to escape.
"As Lavoie noted with satisfaction, British and American troops sit approximately 10 kilometers south of Howz-e Madad.
"More British soldiers line the west, sealing that corridor, and Canadian combat teams rolled on Wednesday through Howz-e Madad.
"About 30 vehicles and hundreds of soldiers now hold the northern flank.
"To the east, running in a straight line to the Arghandab River, is impenetrable Route Summit, the 4.5 kilometre roadway established in September, during Operation Medusa.
"Operation Baaz Tsuka succeeded Operation Medusa; it was not meant to duplicate it, especially not the violence that defined it.
"The primary objective, soldiers can recite, is to help civilians and protect them from the Taliban, and to do it within 48 hours of the first Canadian deployment.
"Isolating the Taliban to the south and, by surrounding them on all side, creating an impenetrable box, is described a secondary benefit.
"Meanwhile, during operational briefings, engaging the enemy unless first provoked is declared off limits."
The Army claims there are about 900-Taliban fighters now cornered. That should net them a lot of prisoners or a mountain or corpses. Then again if there's a hole in their net, they might come up with an empty hold, again. Colonel Lavoie was involved in Operation Medusa and was boasting plenty then too. Let's hope he gets it right this time.
Talibans dont fight in the winter and I predicted a vietnam type of operation in the near future, about 2 months ago, look out for exagerated body count, and no bodies to prove their little endevour, a la american.
ReplyDeleteThe practise of the Taliban has been to retreat to their mountain refuges in the winter but this year seems to be different. They're now even reported to be active in Kabul (see the Luftwaffe item below). This seems to be the harbinger of their planned spring offensive. As for body counts, this district is honeycombed with irrigation ditches and the bad guys are highly adept at using them to come and go as they please.
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