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Afghan fighting - the latest reports.

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Is anyone still out there? What's HKIA like now? Seemed to be dying down a bit before I left?

Why has turkey got such a interest in guarding the Airport? Well its not like they do guard the airport as there's about 3 lines of defense before HKIA(N) and I'm sure the Turkish didn't even leave there.
 
I've got a pocked full of Euros if anyone is still accepting them?

Will have to keep an eye on Herat and Lash to see how they get on and the targeted assignations in Kabul to see how things swing.

Saigon 1973 anyone?
I don’t think it’ll get like that.

there will be a few of the elite who will do a runner, but these are the ones who have luxurious apartments in Dubai and who have been shifting money out of the country since we got involved. Mainly old scores settled.

After that, it’ll return to normal status quo. A bit of blood letting because that’s what Afghans do until somebody mediates between to two warring factions. The city dwellers who have nothing in common with the rural population will feel somewhat isolated and they’ll be an exodus of western based Afghan ex pats who will decide that it was probably not the best idea to leave Canada/Germany/US/U.K. and get paid huge sums to act as country advisors.

It’s generally going how many in the J2 world expected it to go.

It’s a pity that we never returned the king to his thrown in the early days. That way we’d have had a unifying power that all sides respect to oversee the transition.

but then again, we did bring democracy to a country that doesn’t understand democracy or wants democracy.
 
I don’t think it’ll get like that.

there will be a few of the elite who will do a runner, but these are the ones who have luxurious apartments in Dubai and who have been shifting money out of the country since we got involved. Mainly old scores settled.

After that, it’ll return to normal status quo. A bit of blood letting because that’s what Afghans do until somebody mediates between to two warring factions. The city dwellers who have nothing in common with the rural population will feel somewhat isolated and they’ll be an exodus of western based Afghan ex pats who will decide that it was probably not the best idea to leave Canada/Germany/US/U.K. and get paid huge sums to act as country advisors.

It’s generally going how many in the J2 world expected it to go.

It’s a pity that we never returned the king to his thrown in the early days. That way we’d have had a unifying power that all sides respect to oversee the transition.

but then again, we did bring democracy to a country that doesn’t understand democracy or wants democracy.
Interesting comment about the King.

Elsewhere Vlad gets the jitters?

 
Is anyone still out there? What's HKIA like now? Seemed to be dying down a bit before I left?

Why has turkey got such a interest in guarding the Airport? Well its not like they do guard the airport as there's about 3 lines of defense before HKIA(N) and I'm sure the Turkish didn't even leave there.
The place is deserted compared to how it used to be, see attached the national flags of who is still here.
Out of the row of shops only Pizza Hut is still open and the Turkish Hairways barbers, the German PX had a big sale before it shut. They found it difficult trying to sell sleeping bags in June though, but they eventually sold everything. Tim's is still open and is always busy.

Turkey are getting $130m or something like that up till Christmas to guard the place, I'm sure Erdogan could do with the foreign cash. It maybe gives them some influence in the region.
 

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When you say reverting to those times before the surge, do you mean relatively peaceful?
there was a time in the early 00s you could mince around without body armour in a soft skinned vehicle.

before the surge Kabul had a thriving nightlife for western civvies.

some of us briefed the surge was going to be a mistake. Some of us were able to brief the same people and demonstrate that the surge had in fact been a mistake.
At a time when the only protection measure you had to do was a 2 vehicle move whenever you travelled off base. Which was great unless like us you only had 2 vehicles (we were the only UK det at the airport) and one of them was a 4t Daf and 1 radio between it and our Land Rover. Oh and to "vary your route".....mmm, you've never left Souter have you fella!
 
Interesting comment about the King.

Elsewhere Vlad gets the jitters?

Russia’s not worried about the TB. They’re worried about refugees fleeing into their sphere of influence.

Afghan refugees, as with any other refugee are a great source of cheap Labour if you want sewers cleaned with toothbrushes or something equally nasty. But they’re also massively destabilising.

stopping the return of its refugees has been used by Afghanistan against its neighbours for added political pressure. Forcibly removing refugees and making them return has been used by its neighbours for added political pressure.

You think host nations cate about Palestinians? They’re seen as sub humans in places like Jordan and Egypt because they cause so much trouble.

neither do country’s want a religious country on the border of their sphere of influence where they’ve tried their utmost to downplay the religious crazies

the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan wasn't a land grab. It was a follow on from the Iranian Islamic revolution in 79. Ten religious crazies kicked off in Herat and stared killing Soviet advisors who wanted a stable, secularish Afghanistan on their borders.

theu went in to stop the religious crazies from gaining a foot hold.

unfortunately, because the US lost all their Iranian based SIGINT sites when the shah fell, once again, US J2 put 2 and 2 together and came up with 5 and thought the Soviets wanted to secure a nice warm water port called Karachi.

The you’d got the ‘let’s pay them back for Vietnam’ brigade.

sadly, Afghanistan’s history is full of what can only be described as retarded outsiders trying to bring the Afghans to heel.

in the good old days, we’d March in. Have a fight. Give them a bag of cash and tell them to wind their necks in.
 
Is anyone still out there? What's HKIA like now? Seemed to be dying down a bit before I left?

Why has turkey got such a interest in guarding the Airport? Well its not like they do guard the airport as there's about 3 lines of defense before HKIA(N) and I'm sure the Turkish didn't even leave there.
If ever you don’t want to get shot at or blown up. Stand next to somebody from Turkey.

funnily enough, the Afghans don’t like targeting Muslim troops.

my guess is that the Turks have been given the detail to stop it getting attacked.
 
If ever you don’t want to get shot at or blown up. Stand next to somebody from Turkey.

funnily enough, the Afghans don’t like targeting Muslim troops.

my guess is that the Turks have been given the detail to stop it getting attacked.
Thats why the Turkish military armd Land Cruisers all have the star & crescent flags/stickers on them as they drive around Kabul on busines....sorry military missions!
 
When you say reverting to those times before the surge, do you mean relatively peaceful?
there was a time in the early 00s you could mince around without body armour in a soft skinned vehicle.

before the surge Kabul had a thriving nightlife for western civvies.

some of us briefed the surge was going to be a mistake. Some of us were able to brief the same people and demonstrate that the surge had in fact been a mistake.
I take your point about Kabul, I was in Souter when it was tents and DTL's... I was further down south with the yanks initially, it was definitely not peaceful and quiet!

BTW, did you ever get to 'Madame Thai' s' in Kabul? I'm sure she followed us from Kosovo, she was opposite Harden Lines and did a roaring trade with UN & UNMIK...
 
I take your point about Kabul, I was in Souter when it was tents and DTL's... I was further down south with the yanks initially, it was definitely not peaceful and quiet!

BTW, did you ever get to 'Madame Thai' s' in Kabul? I'm sure she followed us from Kosovo, she was opposite Harden Lines and did a roaring trade with UN & UNMIK...
I remember in 2006 when they were pleading not to drop 16 air assault into Helmand as it was going to pour petrol on the fire.

they told McCrystal his troop surge wasn’t going to work.

after that Patreous started discounted IED finds as kinetic events to show progress.
 
I remember in 2006 when they were pleading not to drop 16 air assault into Helmand as it was going to pour petrol on the fire.

they told McCrystal his troop surge wasn’t going to work.

after that Patreous started discounted IED finds as kinetic events to show progress.
Well he had other things on his mind didn't he....nice walks in Destille Garden outside his office in HQ ISAF with his female close friend!
 
Front row seats to the Lashkargah police HQ coming under attack:




ETA Wider view from the same window from Taliban TV:

 
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Front row seats to the Lashkargah police HQ coming under attack:




ETA Wider view from the same window from Taliban TV:


And another scene of the assault on Lashkargah police HQ, filmed from the same window (what's the odds on that building still standing before sunrise?):

Edited to correct link:

 
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