The recent interview with Bin Laden indicated (according to the totally biased and unreliable interviewer) that surrender of Kabul could be a trap. It is said that the Russians' big mistake was to fortify themselves in the cities, esp. Kabul. Are the Taliban collapsing, or are they inviting the Allies to get their boots dirty so they can fight a ground war (which would be the Taleban's only hope, at this point)? Any thoughts?

These are some crafty bastards, and the aforementioned interviewer said that his interview with Bin Laden took place somewhere near the front lines in the North of Afghanistan, so he is very much in charge of whatever Taleban army remains. Anyone else following this? I'm curious what others think.

 

I think that our current strategy is a correct one. We are supporting the Northern alliance troops with tactical air assaults. It is really their battle and ours. A cause of Liberty must be supported by something tangable in most peoples eyes. It has to be something valued above all. It's good that they are engaged in this process. Without their engagement of Taliban forces, it would be a mistake for us to engage alone. Are they trying to goat us into a ground fight, yes I think so.

Even if we did, fortification in a city would be a tactical mistake. You win wars by conquest of armies which takes precise tactical movement. They are not won by sitting in one place and letting your enemy come to you. Massive overwelming force and swift movement is what wins battles. They could only fight very limited engagements at best, run and then hide. No logistical support, no reserves, no intel. A dirty hand to hand war is what they want so it can be sustained for a longer period of time. They aren't that crafty. They showed us their hand in the Afgan war with Russia. They believe that they have the same resolve here. Only problem is our resources and resolve are not limited as were the now defunct USSR. The common cause and bond is the 5000 innocent people of all nationalities that died at the hands of a murdering terriost. This was one BIG F@#kUp on his part.

This guy can be read like a book! All you have to do is look at his past and his current thinking. He wants to be the top dog! He'll stop at nothing to get it also. Drugs, illegal arms sales and so much more. He wants a country to call his own, which he doesn't have by the way. So in his line of thinking, if I have to buy my way in, than I may as well take it by force because these weak minded Taliban fools can be bought. He's created his own following so that he can feel like a part of a common cause. His own! Typical thought of a Dictator. We've seen it time and time again through history. This is no diffrent and the motive is the same.

 

The US policy is the right one. They actually told the Alliance not to take Kabul or should I say enter Kabul. Armies should liberate cities not occupy them. Once the Taliban retreated from Kabul there was no reason to even go in the town. Keep pressing and keep them on the run.

The US also fears the Alliance will kill more then soldiers because of all the ethnic diversity and prejudices. This would dirupt any hope of a unified Afghan government to take the place of the Taliban.

The US plan for Kabul is to get a UN peace keeping force in place to control the city and to keep it demilitarized.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by CRitchie
[B] Once the Taliban retreated from Kabul there was no reason to even go in the town.

 

But don't loose sight of what the ultimate goal is. To end of terrorism. Afghanistan just happened to be the country that was harboring the #1 terrorist in the world. The Taliban seemed to be a supportor of terrorism. Hence they are being ousted. This may be the beginning of the end of the Afghanistan battle but if you notice we are still far from capturing the terrorists that attacked the WTC nor or we even close to putting an end to such attrocities against man kind.

My worry is which country is next. Libya, Egypt, Iraq, UAE....

We (the US and coalition forces) can't go around destroying stable governments trying to oust terrorism. So my big question is where does the world go from here? I hope that people all over the world are not vindicated by a victory over the Taliban. I know I won't be. We still don't have bin Ladin or any of his cohorts and I don't see where we have even done anything to get any closer to achieve that goal.

 

Iraq does not have a stable government, and will probably be our next taregt for the war on terrorism, maybe not with airstrikes, but in other ways.

 

CRitchie, I think you have hit the nail on the head.
The Taliban will probably rely on fighting a guerilla war from their strongly supported southern regions. We will probably see a north southern split in Afghanistan as the war finally begins to bog down again. I think the Northern Alliance will be reluctant to fight further south as they have their main objective.....Kabul.
The wars in other terrorist harbouring countries will involve covert operations to 'take out' the players, overt large scale operations are very unlikely indeed.
Just my opinion.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by CRitchie
[B]My worry is which country is next.

 

No... those are the ones that were on the top of my head that I think the US government as on their list. The "...." was left for you to fill in other countries that you know or have heard that may harbor terrorist.

The US doesn't "harbor" terrorist but they even walk among us here.

 

bombs bombs and more bombs....stop only when nothing i left behind and then bomb some more just in case