So...a U.S. base comes under direct (small arms, recoiless rifles) and indirect fire (rockets, mortars) and we launch two Apaches. They may or may not have crossed into Pakistani airspace but twice take fire from a Pakistani military outpost.
I could damn care less about what goes on in the Afghan side. That's your problem, buddy. Not my concern,
until it starts to affect and cause detriment to my side.
you complain about your bases which you built in foreign territory thousands of miles away from home? Is that as legitimate a 'grievence' as mine --when you allow (read ''promote'') Afghan ragtag forces to fire on my checkposts, and my positions? You allow insurgents from that side to infilitrate my neck of the woods?
you people seem to think there are only 1 sides to a border. It is some strange membrane where only 1-sided movement takes place.
Don't fight a war, and then huff, puff moan and groan about being shot at in the first place. Even in the yet-to-be-concluded Iraq war theater -- did you fire on Syrian positions? Iranian?
May I also remind you that there have been SEVERAL NATO violations of Pakistans airspace. In the first week of October alone there were 3 such violations. Some people attribute this to plans to extend the Afghan war into Pakistan. Do you want this feeling to further resonate in the Pakistani STREET more than it already has?
Do you care? Maybe not. You ought to though.
(
IT MATTERS)
"...We know for sure the [Apache] helicopter was fired upon -- we got rounds inside the helicopter," Campbell said. "The helicopter returned fire and we are working through just exactly what happened... If [American soldiers] are taking effective fire, then by all means they have to take all measures to safeguard themselves and the other people around there."
I was not present at the scene. I personally don't buy a word of it. But I have no evidence that could help me reach a definite and sound conclusion.
What I do know is that the pilots and crew flying these Apaches are not damn fools. They know what they are doing, and they should know where they are hovering above. If they need help on navigation and knowing when they are crossing red lines, then maybe they should assume desk jobs and administrative duties instead.
Congratulations on your prompt response to our possible incursion. If we didn't know that we were inside Pakistani airspace before your troops opened fire, then we certainly learned so afterwards.
They have to be prompt and alert at all times, even when they are fast asleep.
Too bad insurgents were able to rain direct and indirect fire with impunity into a NATO (read "U.S.") base within Afghanistan from inside your own country. We certainly responded quickly. More quickly, evidently, than your own helicopters were prepared to do so.
setting aside politics or military -- please understand that foreign occupation --especially more aggressive ones --in Afghanistan has never been received warmly
it aint no walk in the park. You knew what you signed up for. Since you are there and your boots are on the ground there, then please allot as much % of resources and manpower as we have to patrol (to the best of our ability, given our limited means) the border on the Afghan side.
Of course, had they done so it is very unlikely that the Pakistani aviators would have attacked the insurgents. Maybe that's why your attack helicopters didn't launch from Miran Shah until after we'd returned fire?
sounds to me that this sequence of events we are being told about all happened very very fast
Odd how little Pakistanis care about their sovereignty when it comes to Afghan taliban fighters hiding behind Mama Pakistan's skirts. This skewed and selective sense of sovereign dignity is something that
to a certain extent I definitely 'sympathize' with your point here.....more needs to be done. Army/FCs can't be everywhere at one time. But this is where better border enforcement, better enforcement at our main airports, better oversight by Interior Ministry, NADRA, etc etc. can make a difference.
you think I like the fact that these stateless Arabs, Uzbeks and Chechen lizard eaters are finding hiding spots in the rugged tribal areas?? Maybe one day I'll explain to you in graphic detail what happened in 2006 in Kurram --when 17 Al Qaeda suspects (all Arabs) escaped from Tora Bora and ended up across in Parachinar.
if i hadn't stuck around longer, i would have sworn that a street sweeper and an industrial strength hose would be needed to clean up the mess......it was the local tribes who alerted the local scouts (Kurram Militia) and they took action. And those AQ suspects were STRAPPED and ready to fight it out. (which is exactly what they did before they were crossed out one-by-one)
America has long since quit giving a ratz azz about.
and so it appears. . .
your 'not giving a ratz azz' is what is leading to your failure in Afghanistan....failure to win hearts and minds, failure to stop the drugs & weapons smuggling and proliferation, failure to stabilize the God-forsaken place.
You at least have the luxury of being able to pack up and go home.....we aint going anywhere, we are here to step on the shards of glass with our bare feet and have to clean up the mess on our own. But then again, that's no new news.
Thanks.
always here to assist!