Michelle Malkin » “The Taliban took us from the rear and we gave them a good spanking.”

“The Taliban took us from the rear and we gave them a good spanking.”

By see-dubya • June 8, 2008 03:14 PM

I’ve been critical before of the British strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq of managing the war instead of fighting it. But this blow-by-blow in the Telegraph (h/t: Hugh Hewitt) suggests that there are some pretty gung-ho Limeys goosing the Taliban behind their lines:

With the enemy sneaking upon the rear position, the soldiers were taken by surprise and in the desperate opening moments of the firefight they struggled to hold them back.

Cpl “Jack” Russell helped lead the counter-attack by running back to his position to grab a GPMG machine gun as his comrades held off the enemy with small arms fire.

“The enemy rounds were all around us,” said Cpl Russell. “They were winning the firefight for a little while as they hit us by surprise. It was pretty hairy, like. When I was running back to my position the guys saw rounds landing by my feet.”

The article’s final quote, from a mortar tender who dropped several rounds on the Taliban positions, was so unintentionally funny that I made it the title of this post. Though the British paratroopers were victorious, they made a key mistake: you never want to let the Taliban take up a position behind you.

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Comments

#1

On June 8th, 2008 at 3:21 pm, ScottG said:

you never want to let the Taliban take up a position behind you.

That’s the only way they can be successful. Gutless cowards.
#2

On June 8th, 2008 at 3:46 pm, magicarb said:

“The Taliban took us from the rear and we gave them a good spanking.”

Talk about your crack troops…
#3

On June 8th, 2008 at 3:51 pm, Goldwater Knight said:

I wonder what whout happen if the Brits were armed with AA-12s…
#4

On June 8th, 2008 at 4:05 pm, brooklyn red said:

Good for the Brits, but I don’t understand one thing… if you are on a hill which side is behind??

Whatever… good for the Brits.
#5

On June 8th, 2008 at 4:22 pm, ArmoredCAV said:

I wonder what whout happen if the Brits were armed with AA-12s…

Then they would be carrying a weapon with ammunition that weighed too much, limiting how much they could carry, and would be ineffective outside a relatively close range, making it likely useless in the terrain of Afghanistan, unless caught in a small urban area.
#6

On June 8th, 2008 at 4:26 pm, Billy Mays said:

GOOD THINKING,

GRAB A GPMG MACHINE GUN

WHICH IS REDUNDANT.
#7

On June 8th, 2008 at 4:33 pm, Billy Mays said:

VIVA LA FRANCE!

THEY GOT A PLANE IN THE AIR!
#8

On June 8th, 2008 at 4:33 pm, Goldwater Knight said:

Then they would be carrying a weapon with ammunition that weighed too much, limiting how much they could carry, and would be ineffective outside a relatively close range, making it likely useless in the terrain of Afghanistan, unless caught in a small urban area.

Right. The AA-12 does have fragmentation grenade ordinance that has a longer range. That probably wouldn’t hurt mixed in with conventional small arms.
#9

On June 8th, 2008 at 5:01 pm, Mojave Mark said:

All the good armies of the world speak English. I’m serious. Think about it. It doesn’t surprise me that the taliban can’t maneuver worth crap, few armies can.
#10

On June 8th, 2008 at 5:03 pm, ajmontana said:

lol, peeps in San Franfreakshow I wouldnt want taking a position behind me either.
#11

On June 8th, 2008 at 5:05 pm, Christian Soldier said:

The Danes – also -actually fire their weaopons in combat:

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2008/06/vikings-vs-taliban.html#readfurther

So – it’s the Brits-the Danes Canadians – and the Aussies—any other country that actually fights?
#12

On June 8th, 2008 at 5:06 pm, Christian Soldier said:

…weapons…
#13

On June 8th, 2008 at 5:14 pm, Billy Mays said:

CANADA’S ENTIRE MILITARY IS ONLY SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT.
#14

On June 8th, 2008 at 5:22 pm, brooklyn red said:

NYPD is better armed…
#15

On June 8th, 2008 at 6:00 pm, Jim M. said:

“The Taliban took us from the rear and we gave them a good spanking.”

Drats! Foiled again. Who would think such a tactic would fail? It always works with goats….
#16

On June 8th, 2008 at 6:48 pm, PatriotRider said:

You’d think with all this talk about “rears” and “spanking” that half of San Freaking-cisco and Santa Fe would be busting down doors (back doors mind you) to get in the action.
#17

On June 8th, 2008 at 7:50 pm, TMoney said:

Way to go to the British.

Rule Brittania!
#18

On June 8th, 2008 at 11:17 pm, Die Hippie, Die said:

In SF they’re too busy organizing a baby shower for a local hero.
#19

On June 8th, 2008 at 11:39 pm, Gwillie said:

Die Hippie, Die
In SF they’re too busy organizing a baby shower for a local hero.

You can see her breast reduction scars. The woman is sick, no other way to say it.
#20

On June 9th, 2008 at 12:43 am, ezupirate75 said:

The Brits knew the Taliban would not let the insult of they fight like women pass & expected a fight. During the initial invasion of Iaq our troops used psy-ops similiar, they had recorded some insults in Arabic & would broadcast them when they were fighting a holed up group of Sadaams brigade of street fighters, they would come boiling out like a bed of ants ready to fight. most got a face-to-face meeting with Allah soon afterwards. Machismo is a big deal in the arab & they used it against them.
#21

On June 9th, 2008 at 2:48 am, tbear44 said:

Hmmm, strange there is hardly any news out of Afghanistan coming from the MSM unless it is bad, (which rarely happens), and come to think of it haven’t heard much out of Iraq lately either. We must be kicking some serious ass.
#22

On June 9th, 2008 at 3:59 am, Mojamaiko said:

Ah, but you see, CW, this is Afghanistan after all, and as I noted in a milblog awhile back, the Pashtun keep their young girls virgin by assuring that their young boys aren’t.

Have you never seen their handsomely kohl-eyed boys and teens, or pictures of swirling flare-skirted males wowing the warriors by the campfires of tribal celebrations?
#23

On June 9th, 2008 at 8:20 am, Irish Rose said:

“The Taliban took us from the rear and we gave them a good spanking.”

… cheeky .
#24

On June 9th, 2008 at 9:56 am, sonofdy said:

No more sodomizing young boys? How will the taliban recruit now? I am guessing college scholarships are out.
#25

On June 9th, 2008 at 10:05 am, sfcmac said:

The Taliban doesn’t fight like American women. We prefer to wear uniforms and fire weapons at the enemy instead of trying to escape disguised in Burqas:

Taliban commander caught; burqa disguise didn’t work
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/03/report_taliban_.html
#26

On June 10th, 2008 at 3:26 am, herself said:

See-Dub – might I suggest some reviews of back dispatches from Michael Yon. He embedded with the British in Iraq for awhile. He appears to respect them highly.

{^_^}