U.S. forces leave Afghanistan's Korengal Valley

[BilaverA]

Is this a harbinger of future pullouts in Afghanistan or simply a localized decision?

For the past couple of years I've been reading that the Korengal Valley was different than other parts of Afghanistan and maybe the US presence was in fact exacerbating the violent response from the locals. That's a tough call, but it does sound like an unforgiving place; a place where more than 40 of my countrymen breathed their last breaths, and for that fact alone it deserves a better epitaph.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...T2010041401263

[MakoZeroSix]

Yeah, but we're also pulling out all of the Burger Kings too, so we must be winning...

[SOTB]

It is a horrible thing to admit we lost those guys, and then are walking away from the area we were supposedly holding -- but we've lost enough lives in the silly adventure that is the social engineering experiment that is the Astan occupation (which is not the same as the very correct and justified Astan invasion -- that only being tarnished by our unwillingness to kill more Afghans (and others) while the "war" was still going on). I wish I were reading that we were simply pulling everyone out.

No one needs worry that we would be leaving other forces wonderfully pretty and well-built bases/buildings. Give the camelfuckers 6 months and they will have arty and large-caliber automatic weapons give those structures the appearance we all remember Astan for....

[ET1/ss nuke]

My dad served over three years as a Marine infantryman in Vietnam, one tour as an advisor and two tours as a platoon sergeant. He always said the one of the more frustrating parts was being sent on patrols but never being allowed to take the land, which entailed trading lives for ground that would then be surrendered so that it could be fought for another day. So much for lessons learned.

["TheSiatonist"]

Such a strange sight to see Taliban walking and taking control of a FOB...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsyNvgDvvQw

How much of supplies (ammo, rockets, etc.) were left behind? Anyone know? I think I saw about 4 boxes of .50 cal on the ground but what were inside the longer boxes?

[square peg]

Originally Posted by Sand Man

Such a strange sight to see Taliban walking and taking control of a FOB...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsyNvgDvvQw

I hope the US booby trapped the place before leaving.

[SOTB]

Originally Posted by square peg

I hope the US booby trapped the place before leaving.

Yes, that is EXACTLY this thing that should have been done. Then we could have Al Jazeera showing video of kids blasted apart while playing on an abandoned FOB....

Why the hell are we leaving fuel, ammo and munitions for them to plunder?

[EchoFiveMike]

Originally Posted by SOTB

Yes, that is EXACTLY this thing that should have been done. Then we could have Al Jazeera showing video of kids blasted apart while playing on an abandoned FOB....

Mines and boobytraps are verbotten due to Treaty issues(even if we didn't sign them, we adhere to them, like Hague and Geneva). Yes, I know that was sarcasm.

OTOH, blowing the shit in place is a good idea, if only to deny to the enemy. And, nothing prevents making said explosions command detonated, since we're going to observe the place anyways.

At the very least, JDAM it. S/F......Ken M

[SOTB]

Originally Posted by EchoFiveMike

OTOH, blowing the shit in place is a good idea, if only to deny to the enemy. And, nothing prevents making said explosions command detonated, since we're going to observe the place anyways.

+1....

[RGR.Montcalm]

Originally Posted by JDAM

Why the hell are we leaving fuel, ammo and munitions for them to plunder?

This was on the Early bird the other day- the CPT in charge of the COB gave it to the villagers in return for safe passage for him and his troops...

Evidently they took just about everything else that wasn't nailed down.

[SOTB]

Originally Posted by RGR.Montcalm

This was on the Early bird the other day- the CPT in charge of the COB gave it to the villagers in return for safe passage for him and his troops...

Evidently they took just about everything else that wasn't nailed down.

What SHOULD have been offered was not to bomb the ville immediately upon any fire directed at the departing troops. Whatever, though.

As to stripping the place, even the Taliban won't be able to keep that from happening. And the same thing will happen to Eggars, Bagram, KAF, etc. -- when we abandon them as well....

[specialist_engr]

I've never been to AStan, don't know much about it, so maybe one of you could help me understand this. I read the article and still don't understand why we're doing this. It wasn't too long ago I heard about the 35000 additional troops Obama planned to send over there to support the soldiers already there and make an effort to stabilize the entire country. If we're trying to stabilize the whole country, why are we pulling out of an area which appears to me to still have a strong Taliban presence?

All I got from the article was that basically we were encountering heavy resistance for a long time in the area. Doesn't that mean that we're in the right place, and just need more soldiers in the region to secure it and drive out the terrorists?

It may be just above my pay grade, but does this make sense to any of you with more experience and a better understanding of the situation?

[Polypro]

Bud, killing everything that picked up a gun from 7 Oct 2001 to 7 Oct 2002 and then leaving with a "don't make us come back" message is what should have happened. It's the people above your pay grade that thought trying to beat the Soviet record, woman's rights, and "Just Say No" was a good plan...so I wouldn't sweat it.

P

[reed11b]

It's in the numbers. We still don't have eneogh troops to be everywhere and hold. My guess (only a guess), is that we are going to try to consolidate, clear and build forces in specific areas until the locals can hold and then move and do it again. Or we may be taking advantage of the Taliban's habit of forming larger units when not being activly engaged to ease targeting of their forces. Or not.
Reed

[SOTB]

Originally Posted by Polypro

Bud, killing everything that picked up a gun from 7 Oct 2001 to 7 Oct 2002 and then leaving with a "don't make us come back" message is what should have happened. It's the people above your pay grade that thought trying to beat the Soviet record, woman's rights, and "Just Say No" was a good plan....

Well stated....

[RAT]

Originally Posted by reed11b

It's in the numbers. We still don't have eneogh troops to be everywhere and hold. My guess (only a guess), is that we are going to try to consolidate, clear and build forces in specific areas until the locals can hold and then move and do it again. Or we may be taking advantage of the Taliban's habit of forming larger units when not being activly engaged to ease targeting of their forces. Or not.
Reed

I am pretty sure I could hold the ground from here in Texas and not have one troop on the ground.

Just have to have to balls to use what we have.

RO!!!

Originally Posted by RGR.Montcalm

the CPT in charge of the COB gave it to the villagers in return for safe passage for him and his troops...

That has got to be the most pansy ass shit I have ever heard...

[BSDCA]

Originally Posted by square peg

I hope the US booby trapped the place before leaving.

Are you being serious?!

Those are the kind of people we are fighting against.

You want the next news article to be about innocent kids being blown up by US "booby traps" ?

I like reading this site because of the intelligent comments and discussions about such topics. Reading that comment is more in line with what I would expect to see as a video comment on YouTube or something...

[reed11b]

Originally Posted by RAT

I am pretty sure I could hold the ground from here in Texas and not have one troop on the ground.

Just have to have to balls to use what we have.

RO!!!

Not really sure what you are saying. How would you say this to a lower enlisted grunt?
Reed