Marines near Kandahar - Stroke of Genius?

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It strikes me that maybe we're telling the tribals, "either you take Kandahar or we will."

As far as whether the tribals respond, remember that a lot of them are really hot for loot.

-- Anonymous, November 27, 2001

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-- Anonymous, November 27, 2001

NYDailyNews

U.S. Tomcats Hit Armored Convoy F-14s defend Marine takeover of airstrip

By KIT R. ROANE in Kabul, Afghanistan and RICHARD SISK in Washington Daily News Writers

arine helicopter gunships that have moved into Afghanistan went into action immediately yesterday, pouncing on a Taliban armored convoy that was heading toward the leathernecks' desert firebase.

Vietnam War-vintage AH-1W Cobra gunships took part with Navy F-14 Tomcat jets in an air attack that raked the column of 15 enemy vehicles, U.S. officials said.

Although the Marine helicopters did not fire on the convoy — the Navy F-14s did — they were in the area and ready to fire if needed, said Maj. Brad Lowell, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command.

Other officials said the Marines played a key role in guiding the strikes by the Navy jets.

The attack came hours after the Marines set up shop uncontested outside Kandahar in a risky overnight operation that was the longest ship-to-shore movement of Marine infantry in the history of the corps, Marine Col. Peter Miller said.

Troops continued to pour into the base yesterday.

"In short order you'll have 1,000-plus Marines in the backyard of the Taliban," Miller said.

The 400-mile flight from ships in the Arabian Sea off Pakistan by troop-carrying CH-53E and CH-46E choppers required in-flight refueling to reach the Dolangi airfield, about 55 miles southwest of the Taliban stronghold in Kandahar.

Vow to Fight On

The Marine presence immediately drew a threat from the Taliban holding out in Kandahar. "We have decided to fight against the American military until death," Taliban spokesman Mullah Abdullah was quoted by the Afghan Islamic Press as saying.

But the Marines vowed retribution for the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Osama Bin Laden "picked this fight," Lt. Col. Christopher Bourne told his troops as they boarded the helicopters. "You're going to finish it."

Local Afghans said the airfield secured by the Marines was built by a wealthy Arab and later taken over by Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda fighters.

The locals said the private helicopter of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar had been parked on the strip days before.

"The Marines have landed, and we now own a piece of Afghanistan," said Maj. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the newly formed Marine Task Force 58.

The task force is made up of ground units from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Camp Pendleton, Calif., and the 26th, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Within 90 minutes of securing the sandy airfield, troops set up landing lights to allow C-130 transports to land with more troops, supplies and light armored vehicles, he said.

"The 'New York School of Ballet' could not have orchestrated a more intricate movement more flawlessly," said Mattis, a veteran of the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm.

'Smoking Them Out'

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the airfield could be used as a firebase to conduct aggressive patrols in the hunt for Bin Laden and the Taliban leadership.

"We now have forces that can more successfully interdict highways and main routes of transportation and communication" to cut off Bin Laden's escape routes to Pakistan and Iran, Rumsfeld said.

At the White House, President Bush said, "We're smoking them out. They're running, and now we're going to bring them to justice."

But he warned that having more Americans on the ground means a greater possibility for casualties.

"This is a dangerous period of time," Bush said. "America must be prepared for loss of life. This is a period of time in which we're now hunting down the people who are responsible for bombing America."

In Kabul, Abdullah Abdullah, the foreign minister of the Northern Alliance, said that with the Marines joining the chase, "Osama and his forces are now contained and are not free to move over the country."

As the Marines set up their positions, tribal fighters claimed to have seized territory near the city's airport and taken control of part of the road between Kandahar and Spinboldak, near the border with Pakistan.

-- Anonymous, November 27, 2001


May justice be swift, our forces strong, our losses there minimal.

Go get em!

-- Anonymous, November 27, 2001


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