“The Taliban took us from the rear and we gave them a good spanking.”
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.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Afghanistan
Power Line
» The Alarmists Do "Science": A Case Study
Power Line
» When In Doubt, DeletePundit & Pundette
» About last night's voteCommentary
» The End of the BeginningGay Patriot
» How John Hoeven Can Save AmericaCommentary
» Flotsam and JetsamJustOneMinute
» The Topless Ann AlthouseEd Driscoll
» The Bears Are Who We Thought They Were
That’s the only way they can be successful. Gutless cowards.
“The Taliban took us from the rear and we gave them a good spanking.”
Talk about your crack troops…
I wonder what whout happen if the Brits were armed with AA-12s…
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.
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.
GOOD THINKING,
GRAB A GPMG MACHINE GUN
WHICH IS REDUNDANT.
VIVA LA FRANCE!
THEY GOT A PLANE IN THE AIR!
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.
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.
lol, peeps in San Franfreakshow I wouldnt want taking a position behind me either.
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?
…weapons…
CANADA’S ENTIRE MILITARY IS ONLY SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT.
NYPD is better armed…
Drats! Foiled again. Who would think such a tactic would fail? It always works with goats….
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.
Way to go to the British.
Rule Brittania!
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.
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.
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.
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?
… cheeky
.
No more sodomizing young boys? How will the taliban recruit now? I am guessing college scholarships are out.
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
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.
{^_^}