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By mid-morning, the main battle was at the Grand Afghan Shopping Centre, a large indoor shopping mall near the justice ministry and presidential palace in the centre of the town that was ablaze, with gunmen holed up inside.
A large explosion could be heard later in another part of the central district of diplomatic and government offices. Private Tolo television said it was a suicide car-bomb outside another shopping mall.
Defence Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said of the scene at the Grand Afghan Shopping Centre: “The store is under siege and we are involved in clash with those inside. Some security forces have managed to get inside the store.”
… Mohammad Shah, a shopkeeper in the centre, said: “There was an explosion at the presidential palace gate and then three people who looked like suicide bombers entered the shopping centre and went to the second and third floor.
“There were gunshots from security people, there was black smoke inside the building and the security guys escorted us out,” he said. “People carrying RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) went inside the basement … the second and third floor are partly burned down.”
Quqnoos is reporting (click link for a photo):
An unknown number of downtown buildings were on fire, with smoke billowing above.
This is apparently the biggest militant operation ever conducted in Kabul for several years, targeting government buildings and shopping centres.
Streets in the centre of the city have been closed and hotels and government buildings have been locked down.
This attack comes only six days after Sen. Carl Levin, commenting on his briefings in Afghanistan last week, said:
he had seen “a significant increase in optimism about possibility of success in Afghanistan.”
… Levin continued, “Our counterinsurgency strategy may be taking hold. We are offering terms of security better than the false security offered by the Taliban.”
And only six days after Gen. Stanley McChrystal was “asked if Nato-led forces were shifting the momentum against Taliban insurgents?” His reply: “I believe we’re doing it right now.
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“The surge is working.”
Or, “can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs.”
Or, “we were expecting some increase in violence before we regained control.”
The administration should of had tea with Greg Mortenson instead of coffee with the little prince . I’m afraid what were faced with an incurable case of military industrial complex.
What they thought was coffee has turned out to be black water.
And Blackwater has turned out to be Imperialism’s cup of tea.
Opium tea…
w/ Colombian ‘sugar.’
Nice.
I think you meant “military/industrial/media complex”.
Has anyone besides the dirty fucking hippies considered the possibility that we can’t win? Biden maybe the highest guy who comes closest ?
McChrystal. What a doofus.
Everybody but the dirty fucking hippies know that ‘winning’ wars isn’t as important as winning military contracts.
In fact, ‘winning’ the war is a defeat to war profiteers.
Obama/Biden won’t let that happen.
Even if they talk a good game.
Well, the story seems to confirm this statement as true:
Well, the story seems to confirm this statement as true.We are offering terms of security better than the false security offered by the Taliban.”
Curioso appears that nobody [save war masters]know what is us/nato endgoal in afgh’n.
We can only guess. I think us and nato want the land while using the ancient methodology: invasion, occupation, de facto dismemberment, and puppetization.
Natch, this simplicity is wrapped in an endless rationalization;i.e., giving reasons; which, in principle, never ends.
Yet there is only one cause for all wars: acquisition of land and everything that is in it or on it; may also include people. tnx
What date was 1968 Tet Offensive on?
yeah. it’s all talk, man. all talk.
Someone should point out to Obama that even Ronald Reagan brought the troops home when they were stuck in a situation without a military solution(Lebanon).
What’s interesting is that if you ask what the goal is in Afghanistan, they say: to prevent AQ from regaining a foothold. (Suspend disbelief for a moment about AQ foothholds in Pak, Yemen, Somalia, etc.) Taken at face value, that means the U.S. has to stay there forever, because in a mountainous poor country, the Afghans will never be able to keep them out on their own.
Raygun couldn’t pass muster with the Rs today, and maybe not the Ds too (for reasons other than the ones we’d advance).
I already know, as most of you do, that many of our politicians are chickenhawks:
http://www.awolbush.com/whoserved.html
But what I’d like to know is how many of our multi-starred generals running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are chickenhawks as well. Something tells me, though I don’t know for sure, that very few of them have ever put their lives directly on the line in real-life combat — minus any of the pretend stuff they play on weekends from time to time.
This leads me to say that I think as long as the US is thought of as having the most powerful military on the planet, we’ll continue to keep our generals in power, even if none of them can win a war against an enemy whose firepower is far beneath ours. If we don’t, we’ll be sending a message to the world that having a military that dwarfs all others by a long shot is not what it’s cracked up to be, forcing us to give up many our military (mis)adventures around the globe. Something similar can be said about our banking system. As long as the US is thought of as the world’s leader in finance, we’ll keep our bankers rolling in the dough, even if the vast majority of them are lousy at investing. If we don’t, we’ll be sending a message to the world that our banking system is no longer up to snuff, forcing us to hand some of our financial power over to one or several of the BRIC countries.
Reading around other blogs, including Daily Kos and TPM, I have learned that Jane Hamsher is responsible for (fill in the blank). In addition to the Coakley defeat tomorrow and the end of health care legislation, it seems reasonable to assume she is also causing the US to lose in Afghanistan. On the other hand, one could just as well argue that Mancur Olsens premise put forth in The Rise and Decline of Nations that interest groups ultimately take successful governments hostage has come to pass.
Anytime this sort of thing happened in Iraq Bush or Cheney would just say that “we’ve got them on the run” or “the terrorists are getting desperate” Or “the terrorists are in their last throws”. Lastly, “This is good for the Republicans”.
Wow, I’m beginning to get the feeling they don’t like us any better than the Soviets. Go an’ figure.
Sorry to have missed this discussion – Quqnoos (a very useful Afghan news service – http://www.quqnoos.com/ )now reports 15 dead, 55 wounded.
Towards the end of the Soviet invasion they couldn’t hold or defend large swathes of Kabul it’s … … … startling to see these attacks succeed at this stage of affairs.
They managed to get within 50 meters of the presidential palace.
Not surprisingly Richard Holbrooke (same report) rather missed the point:
Yes indeed because the point the Taliban are making with this and other attacks is that Karzai isn’t even the “Mayor of Kabul” any more.
A government that can’t even secure a relatively small part of the capital is one that is haemorrhaging legitimacy at a remarkable rate.
du
A small suicide attack, blowing up things and killing people randomly.
“Small suicide attack” my ass. Even by your, admittedly abysmal, standards of knee-jerk inanity that’s bullshit and you know it. They managed to get a large raiding force including suicide bombers into one of the most heavily secured areas of the capital. They then managed to remain in place for several hours. That they managed to do all of that is going to have long-term and serious political and thus military repercussions.
small ass
But not as small as either your mind, your character, or your grasp of reality.
How old are you in troll years anyway? A senescent troll is a pathetic creature and you’re starting to show all the signs.
du
*poof*
du
Yes, you would recognize those signs. How is your da?
Why no report of Taliban killed here? Only five killed, or even fifteen, are really small numbers, and may bespeak of the Afghans doing a much better job of defending themselves.
The inevitable, and inevitably wrong, answer to any question put to the military is; “All we need is more troops and more time. Then we can win, or not lose, or be able to withdraw with honor.”
How many times must fearful Presidents fall for this sophistry before they wake up to the fact that the military ALWAYS gets it wrong when it comes to making strategic decisions?
The full story is still sorting out. This was breaking news on overseas networks at 3AM my time and so the post reflects what was known then and reported.
I assumed, perhaps wrongly, that given the suicide vests, etc that all 20-30 Taliban would likely die during this attack but I don’t see that as a sign of good defense given their ability to hit at the heart of Kabul which at least should be better defended. And the battle went on for hours … a sign of problems indeed.
Here’s a BBC report. 12 dead Taliban. Half that many killed by them. A burned shopping center.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8465044.stm
According to the report. 12 gunmen came, 12 died.
You’ve degenerated badly if that sort of cowardly attempt to resort to ad hominem attacks on members of my family is the best you can manage.
Loser.
du
That is indeed the point — they managed to penetrate the best protected part of the capital. Ensconce themselves in places where they had clear fields of fire at high value targets and got so close to the presidential palace that they were engaged directly by Karzai’s bodyguards.
When one reflects on how few were needed to create complete devastation in the Mumbai massacres today’s events in Kabul are an ominous development. Fortunately they didn’t managed to “do a Mumbai” but I’ll bet they’r every pleased with today’s operation as a “proof of concept” exercise.
du
For all I know the military is meeting every single one of it’s goals.
Isn’t it possible that the current goal is to escalate and broaden the war? Can’t do that unless you have an active enemy.
From a US military point of view, the worst thing imaginable that the Afghani’s could do in the face of drone attacks on thier homes and schools would be to behave entirely peacefully. We’d be forced to come home.
He’s still able to stir up that yummy banana pudding, then. Good.
Try not to start crying about personal attacks that you’ve needlessly started.
Small and whiny.
And whatever pleasure they may have gotten from the attack is immaterial. They accomplished nothing other than demonstrating that they can die in a small pointless attack.
It only serves them if it scares people more than it disgusts them.
Whatever pleasure that they might have from the attack is immaterial. They accomplished nothing of import unless people are more frightened of it than they are disgusted by it.
As has been said repeatedly, the Taliban force got to, and stayed in, a place they never should have been able to get into, or stay in.
As small as this seems, it’s HUGE given the implications . . . the MAIN implication being, they CAN get close to Karzai, they CAN infiltrate with weapons no less, and do what they choose, in the HEART of the CAPITAL of the COUNTRY.
In Saigon, it began in the early 60′s with VC quietly loading bicycle pumps with munitions and blowing people up,
In the HEART of the city . . . . huge implications about intent, ability and lack of preparedness or response.
Yer a bit tough on Du, you two have history on Billmon or Moon Over Alabama, perhaps?
There’s never been much question that they can get into and mount a small attack in Kabul.
What they gained with the publicity attack and what happens next is of more import.
No history at either place iirc – I’m an old Billmon habitue (one of the founders of Le Speakeasy in fact) Macaquerman was not active there – in fact, the idea is rather amusing to imagine eh Larue?
Unfortunately Macaquerman seems to enjoy attacking me as a terrorist sympathizer and Du as … hmmm … a small ass? I have no idea as to the size of Du’s posterior but I do have a very good sense of who is the actual ass in this fight.
Du – thank you for that added info. The reports last night were certainly chilling as they accounted the fighting going on and on at the gates of the Presidential palace. While some here may discount the impact, I’m sure Afghans got the message.
for the personal stuff, read from 25 on and tell me who started flinging shit.