Thursday, September 04, 2008

DIGGERS UNDER FIRE IN AFGHANISTAN

DIGGERS UNDER FIRE IN AFGHANISTAN

The Herald Sun newspaper is describing the wounding in action of 9 Australian Special Forces soldiers as the heaviest casualty toll since our involvement in the Vietnam War (1962-72). One digger is still fighting for his life and has been evacuated to a military hospital in Germany.

The Australians share a base with the Dutch NATO troops at Tarin Kowt, Oruzgan Province.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24292387-5005961,00.html

"The soldier was one of nine special forces troops wounded in a hail of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades on Tuesday, Australia's single biggest injury count since the Vietnam war. They were returning from a raid on Taliban forces when they were ambushed by a significant Taliban force.

"An unknown number of Taliban insurgents died in the fighting."

The Canadians operate out of the Kandahar province, the traditional Taliban stronghold.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g76mjpEeWFsl1yV6ByiT63flFy_Q

The Canadian Press has reported that 3 Canadian soldiers were killed and 5 wounded.


comment: The traditional war fighting season in Afghanistan runs over the warmer months in the northern hemisphere.

With the onset of winter, the Taliban and other insurgents in the past have melted away and hibernated. So is this a last attempt to inflict casualties before the cold comes?

Then again, we have a US Presidential election in November of this year.

TEAM UZUNOV WARNING ORDER:

But could the Australian casualties have been minimised? Stay tuned for an up-coming article in http://teamuzunovmedia.blogspot.com/that takes a closer look at Australia's political-military strategy in Afghanistan.

No comments: