I will come to why we are losing in a moment, first off...FOXNews -
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 80 Taliban fighters during a six-hour battle outside a Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the latest in a series of increasingly bloody engagements in the region, officials said.
Also Saturday, homicide bomber wearing an Afghan security uniform detonated his explosives at the entrance to a combined U.S.-Afghan base in the east of the country, killing four Afghan soldiers and a civilian, officials said.
The battle near Musa Qala in Helmand province — the world's largest poppy growing region — is at least the fifth major fight in the area since Sept. 1. The five battles have killed more than 250 Taliban fighters, a possible sign that U.S. or British forces could be trying to wrest the area back from Taliban militants.
The latest fight began when Taliban fighters attacked a combined U.S. coalition and Afghan patrol with rockets and gunfire, prompting the combined force to call in attack aircraft, which resulted in "almost seven dozen Taliban fighters killed," the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement early Sunday.
The coalition said that four bombs were dropped on a trench line filled with Taliban fighters, resulting in most of the deaths.
Plus we have...from the MODSix months ago the town of Sangin was controlled by the Taliban and the small ISAF unit there was under siege. But as 12 Mechanized Brigade’s six month deployment to Afghanistan came to an end yesterday, the town is thriving once again with a Governor and Chief of Police, and throughout Helmand the Taliban have been put on the back foot.
The last units from 12 Mech Bde left Afghanistan yesterday, Wednesday 24 October 2007, after a six month deployment which began with the Taliban building up for an offensive against ISAF and the Afghan National Security Forces but ended with the enemy beaten back after a series of operations which saw fierce fighting in soaring heat and tough terrain.
Talking yesterday at Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow about the fight the Brigade took to the Taliban over the last six months, Brigadier John Lorimer, Commander of 12 Mech Bde said:
"The fighting was tough and the terrain and climatic conditions made it even tougher. The temperature hit 50 degrees during the peak of the brutal summer months. "The enemy was cunning, determined and ruthless, utilising every terrorist tactic against us, the Afghan soldiers and police and the representatives of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. "However, every time we closed with the enemy, we beat him – and beat him well. This was down to first class junior level commanders, well trained and motivated soldiers, excellent equipment and outstanding multinational support."
British soldiers from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), working alongside their Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) counterparts, have launched a further operation to drive the Taliban out of the Upper Gereshk Valley in southern Afghanistan.
The Task Force level offensive, codenamed 'Chakush' or 'Hammer', began in the early hours of Tuesday 24 July 2007 in the area between Heyderabad and Mirmandab, north east of Gereshk.
Led by the British commanded Task Force Helmand, the operation is continuing the momentum towards expelling Taliban forces from areas of the Upper Gereshk Valley in Helmand province.
ISAF's enduring objective is to extend the influence and control of Afghanistan's democratically elected Government as well as enabling vital reconstruction and development projects to take place.
The creation of an enduring security presence in the Upper Gereshk Valley is an important step to achieving these objectives.
During the initial stages of the operation, ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces advanced to secure a strategic bridge crossing over the Nahr-e-Seraj canal, clearing and searching compounds, before military engineers from 26 Engineer Regiment established a joint forward operating base in order to provide an enduring and reassuring security presence in the area. ISAF soldiers and the Afghan National Army are continuing to move through Taliban-held areas expanding north, south and east into the Upper Gereshk Valley. Conducted in support of the Afghan Government and in consultation with the local authorities, Operation Chakush builds on progress made in defeating the Taliban and extending the Afghan Government's authority within Helmand province during recent months. Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Mayo said: "This operation is another important step in continuing the progress we have made recently in providing the enduring security conditions required for the Afghan Government to remove Taliban influence from the communities in Sangin and the Upper Gereshk Valley. "It is vitally important to prevent the Taliban intimidating and terrorising the local population so that they can go about their daily lives peacefully. "The malignant presence of the Taliban subjects the people of Helmand to the threat of violence and hampers reconstruction and development projects that are so important to improving their quality of life. "The local people have welcomed Afghan National Army and Task Force Helmand soldiers and are pleased that we are driving the Taliban out of their villages.
"They know that Afghan National Army and ISAF soldiers are working hard to deliver the peace and stability they so desperately want."
The UK-led Task Force Helmand has carried out a number of recent operations in the province. Earlier this month Operation Leg Tufaan ("Small Storm") removed Taliban influence from the towns of Gereshk and Kakaran into the Upper Gereshk Valley. Operation Ghartse Gar ("Mountain Stag") was launched to take control of Jusyalay, between Sangin and Putay.
And we have this on UK forces training up the Afghans to defend themselves..From the MODRoyal Marine Captain Matthew Williams has just completed a six month tour in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, where he helped train the Afghan Army.
His team trained the Afghan National Army (ANA) in all military and security aspects from very basic soldiering skills and weapon training to more advanced operations. Captain Williams has seen many changes over the last six months and has been impressed by what the ANA has done to improve security in the country. They are now conducting regular check-point and security patrols based on the training they have received. Captain Williams said: "The highlight of my tour has been finding out that the ANA that we had helped train had captured a key Taliban leader; this really shows the progress that has been made. We trained them and then they completed the operation on their own; it is really gratifying to see." There have also been many obstacles to overcome: "There are many cultural differences between the British and the Afghans and also their work ethics are quite different to ours, so this has sometimes caused misunderstandings. "Language has also been something that we have had to deal with. The guys are generally young and uneducated so their ability to take on information and act on it requires special handling and understanding; these personnel are not like your average British recruit."
**So in numerous operations the terrorists of the Taliban are being sent to meet Allah at a rate of knots, losing men and material as well as land and the Afghani people are being trained to fight for their homeland.
Yet according to one "expert" we losing the war, well you see an armchair general thousands of miles away stuck in his ivory tower in the House of Parliment claims that is the case.
Yes despite the facts out of touch MP Paul Flynn thinks we are losing...British Vietnam
So for £140,014 in expenses, plus his wage as an MP, plus 91 days paid holiday a year, plus the fact he is a proven libelist and liar we get an MP who either is wrong on his facts on Afghanistan that his lives in fucking la-la land or he a typical leftist and is happy to stick the knife into our troops for petty point scoring and would be happy to leave the Afghan people to the headchopping drug dealers of the Taliban.MP's really not worth a penny piece of that we pay them.
Tags: Paul Flynn, Afghanistan, War on terror, Taliban
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