Meanwhile over at the forgotten war in Afghanistan

[AlCzervik]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2004/sep/20/092001877.html

2 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Afghan Fighting
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Two U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in a firefight with insurgents in a troubled southeastern Afghan province, the American military said.

Two other Americans were slightly wounded and six Afghan government troops were evacuated to a U.S. base for treatment after the battle in Paktika province, a military statement said.

The names of the dead soldiers were being withheld until relatives could be informed, the statement said. It gave no further details of the incident.

According to the U.S. Defense Department, 137 U.S. military personnel have now died during Operation Enduring Freedom, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Kipling had it right.

"If ever your wounded on Afhanistan's plains,
And, the women are coming to cut up your remains,
Just roll on yer rifle and blow out yer brains,
And, die like a good British soldier."

From memory so the wording may not be quite right. My grandfather chased Afghan rebels/bandits around the the turn of the century for the British colonialists.

[AlCzervik]

2. Here is some more only Afghan soldiers

no head for them to blow off.

Last Update: Monday, September 20, 2004. 8:23pm (AEST)

Militants behead three Afghan soldiers
Suspected Taliban militants in Afghanistan have reportedly beheaded three Afghan soldiers in the southern province of Zabul, in the latest pre-election violence.
Zabul's security chief says the soldiers were travelling in a taxi to the provincial capital of Qalat, when they were stopped by a group of men that included two Pakistanis and an Arab.
He says the attack has since been claimed by a breakaway faction of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban militia, which has vowed to step up violence in the run-up to the presidential election on October 9.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in militant-related violence in the past year in Afghanistan.
Remnants of the Taliban and radical Islamic allies are seeking to undermine the US-backed Government in Kabul, and harass foreign troops.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1203313.htm

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Things haven't changed much since my granddaddy was there.

Or, since Alexander the Great had to fight his way through the passes.

I've also seen reports that the Afghans were fond of skinning Russian prisoners alive.

Quagmire #1 before Quagmire #2 in Iraq.