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But it's comparable to what a country like Angola has. Which is hopeful considering it's meager enough not to draw attention but enough to really move the economy of a small country forward.
But it's comparable to what a country like Angola has. Which is hopeful considering it's meager enough not to draw attention but enough to really move the economy of a small country forward.
I tried to find what the average size of an oil well was and failed when I had first seen that article. I noticed that the largest fields were something like 60 billion barrels, and usually the big fields are surrounded by other fields. 1.6 billion (I haven't clicked the link again, I think that was the number though) barrels sounds like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things its not much. And getting the stuff out of the ground and out of the country would be a rather difficult time there.
Also:
Afghanistan's giant private security industry, which guards everything from western embassies to Nato supply convoys, is set to be scrapped within four months under dramatic new plans from Hamid Karzai.
According to Karzai's spokesman, the Afghan president is due to bring forward plans to dissolve all private security companies and hand over responsibility to the country's still ill-trained and often corrupt police force.
While a noble effort, I can't see how this is possible. Mercenaries make a massive amount of money in Afhganistan, and are in extremely high demand as personal body-guards all the way up to advanced combat operations. I also don't see how Afghanistan is going to enforce this, doesn't the US military employ a vast number of these guards? And how are they going to make sure private companies don't employ them?
That sounds like a terrible idea. If companies were satisfied with the security that could be provided by the police, they wouldn't be hiring PMCs in the first place. So this can only end one of two ways:
1) They keep doing it anyway, and the government ends up looking weak and ineffective.
2) They pull out of the country all-together, or at least scale back, thus hurting the economy.
Either way, the Taliban wins.
HamHamJ on
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
I don't see how it could hurt the economy. It's not like they're investing the large amounts of money they're getting paid back into Afghanistan.
The problem with the plan is that it sounds like it'll be too ambitious. But I want to wait and see what he actually proposes in detail.
I'm assuming the plan extends to something like a mining company hiring private security for their mine. In which case, they might just shut down the mine because of inadequate security.
HamHamJ on
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
I'm referring to nexus's post about Afghanistan's highest religious authority defending something awful. While Catholicism isn't officially a part of Italy's government, 85% of the country is Catholic and it receives special treatment no other religion does.
Afghan and Nato-led troops have killed some 35 Taliban insurgents in offensives in east Afghanistan this week as part of efforts to secure next month's parliamentary elections, coalition forces said today.
"The joint force has killed more than 35 Taliban fighters and captured several key Taliban facilitators in recent days," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement. Earlier, it had given a figure of 40 dead.
ISAF said the ongoing operation, which began on Saturday and involves air strikes, had uncovered arms and vests for use in suicide attacks. A Taliban spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Afghanistan is set to hold a parliamentary election on September 18th, but officials have said more than 900 polling centres, or some 13 per cent of the total, will not open because of security concerns. At least three candidates have been killed in suspected insurgent attacks.
This month, the number of foreign troops killed in the conflict passed the grim milestone of 2,000, with commanders warning of more tough fighting ahead.
A United Nations report found that civilian casualties increased by 31 per cent in the first six months of 2010, more than three-quarters of them blamed on insurgents.
The casualties have grown as the insurgency spreads out of traditional Taliban strongholds in the south and east into the north and west despite the presence of more than 140,000 troops.
In a blow to President Barack Obama, the head of the US Marines said the White House’s setting of July 2011 to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan is giving the Taliban "sustenance”.
The comments by Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway are the most blunt comments by a top military official of a timetable widely criticised by opposition Republicans, who say it empowers the Taliban to wait out an eventual US withdrawal.
"In some ways, we think right now it is probably giving our enemy sustenance," Gen Conway said of the deadline.
But the general, who is retiring this fall, said he thought the deadline might not ultimately comfort the insurgents, who could find that only a small number of United States forces leave Afghanistan next July, a scenario that is increasingly set forth by Pentagon officials and senior military commanders. General Conway predicted that Taliban fighters, who he said have been told repeatedly by their commanders that the Americans would leave en masse, would be demoralized when they realize that the United States is staying.
“What’s he going to say to his foot troops,” General Conway said of Taliban commanders, when, “come the fall, we’re still there hammering them like we have been? I think it could be very good for us in that context, in terms of the enemy’s psyche and what he has been, you know, posturing now for, really, the better part of a year.”
But the general, who is retiring this fall, said he thought the deadline might not ultimately comfort the insurgents, who could find that only a small number of United States forces leave Afghanistan next July, a scenario that is increasingly set forth by Pentagon officials and senior military commanders. General Conway predicted that Taliban fighters, who he said have been told repeatedly by their commanders that the Americans would leave en masse, would be demoralized when they realize that the United States is staying.
“What’s he going to say to his foot troops,” General Conway said of Taliban commanders, when, “come the fall, we’re still there hammering them like we have been? I think it could be very good for us in that context, in terms of the enemy’s psyche and what he has been, you know, posturing now for, really, the better part of a year.”
How difficult is it for insurgents in Afghanistan to find this kind of info out via internet or otherwise? I don't see how having the US not completely pull out is going to be a body blow to their morale.
But the general, who is retiring this fall, said he thought the deadline might not ultimately comfort the insurgents, who could find that only a small number of United States forces leave Afghanistan next July, a scenario that is increasingly set forth by Pentagon officials and senior military commanders. General Conway predicted that Taliban fighters, who he said have been told repeatedly by their commanders that the Americans would leave en masse, would be demoralized when they realize that the United States is staying.
“What’s he going to say to his foot troops,” General Conway said of Taliban commanders, when, “come the fall, we’re still there hammering them like we have been? I think it could be very good for us in that context, in terms of the enemy’s psyche and what he has been, you know, posturing now for, really, the better part of a year.”
How difficult is it for insurgents in Afghanistan to find this kind of info out via internet or otherwise? I don't see how having the US not completely pull out is going to be a body blow to their morale.
The rebels are patient. They've already been fighting 10 years, with around 10 years of civil war before than, and 10 years of Soviet occupation before that.
The rebels know the US is leaving. Maybe 1 year, maybe 5, maybe 10. Frankly I doubt they pay too much attention to that. Some will fight the US until it withdraws. Others will bide their time until enough foreign troops have left, then act.
After what the people of Afghanistan have been through for the past 30+ years, I don't think a press release is going to demoralize them.
Robert Gates implies that the US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan were clinically insane. I wonder what that says about his own views of the present state of the war, ignoring the Pentagon's own propaganda apparatus and seeing that now after the impact of the escalation the security conditions are, depending on whether one asks the UN or the International Red Cross, either in worst state in 10 years or in worst state in 30 years, which says a lot, with the history of the security situation in Afghanistan during that time period kept in mind. And on subject of morale being discussed.... I wonder what this statement by Gates will do for the morale of the Taliban, especially with the timing of this statement coinciding with the Pech withdrawal.
Posts
But it's comparable to what a country like Angola has. Which is hopeful considering it's meager enough not to draw attention but enough to really move the economy of a small country forward.
I tried to find what the average size of an oil well was and failed when I had first seen that article. I noticed that the largest fields were something like 60 billion barrels, and usually the big fields are surrounded by other fields. 1.6 billion (I haven't clicked the link again, I think that was the number though) barrels sounds like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things its not much. And getting the stuff out of the ground and out of the country would be a rather difficult time there.
Also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/16/karzai-ends-private-security
While a noble effort, I can't see how this is possible. Mercenaries make a massive amount of money in Afhganistan, and are in extremely high demand as personal body-guards all the way up to advanced combat operations. I also don't see how Afghanistan is going to enforce this, doesn't the US military employ a vast number of these guards? And how are they going to make sure private companies don't employ them?
1) They keep doing it anyway, and the government ends up looking weak and ineffective.
2) They pull out of the country all-together, or at least scale back, thus hurting the economy.
Either way, the Taliban wins.
The problem with the plan is that it sounds like it'll be too ambitious. But I want to wait and see what he actually proposes in detail.
I'm assuming the plan extends to something like a mining company hiring private security for their mine. In which case, they might just shut down the mine because of inadequate security.
why are we defending a country who's highest religious authority FUCKING DEFENDS THE TAILBAN for stoning people to death
Also, what?
Also the civilian casualty report is depressing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/world/asia/25military.html?hp
Because we've had two threads about the war in Afghanistan in the past couple days. We already have an Afghanistan thread people!
How difficult is it for insurgents in Afghanistan to find this kind of info out via internet or otherwise? I don't see how having the US not completely pull out is going to be a body blow to their morale.
The rebels are patient. They've already been fighting 10 years, with around 10 years of civil war before than, and 10 years of Soviet occupation before that.
The rebels know the US is leaving. Maybe 1 year, maybe 5, maybe 10. Frankly I doubt they pay too much attention to that. Some will fight the US until it withdraws. Others will bide their time until enough foreign troops have left, then act.
After what the people of Afghanistan have been through for the past 30+ years, I don't think a press release is going to demoralize them.