Tuesday, September 22, 2009

U.S. distributes fertilizer to Afghanis, Afghanis use fertilizer to make bombs to blow up Americans


Out-of-control, jaw-droppingly witless dhimmitude: "Wheat Seed Arrives for Distribution in Nawa District," by Lance Cpl. Jeremy Harris for Dvids, September 17 (thanks to Diana West): About 1,050 metric tons of fertilizer will also be distributed in conjunction with the seed, giving the farmers a better opportunity for success, said Purves, who works closely with the Marines of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. The Marines established security in the area and will continue to have a presence while the local government solidifies, but this distribution effort is spear-headed by the Afghan government.

What could go wrong? Let's see. "U.S., Afghan Lives Increasingly Lost To Roadside Bombs," by Tom Bowman for NPR, August 2, 2009:

U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan and local civilians now share a grim common enemy: death by roadside bomb.

July was the deadliest month for American troops since the war began in the fall of 2001. At least 43 U.S. servicemen lost their lives, with about two-thirds being killed by roadside bombs....
Most of the bombs are crudely made, sometimes including fertilizer and diesel fuel packed into plastic jugs. They have little metal, so they're difficult to find with metal detectors and other sophisticated equipment. So U.S. Marines are bringing in dogs to help sniff out the components....

Those roadside bombs are becoming the favorite tool of the Taliban, according to a U.N. report released this week.

The report says Taliban forces are now changing their tactics, shifting away from ambushes or frontal assaults. U.S. officers report finding more and more caches of fertilizer and bomb-making materials.

But fertilizer given to the Afghan government won't make its way to the Taliban, right? Wrong: "In the villages of Afghanistan, many young men are working for the government during the week, but fighting for the Taliban at weekends."

Along with 300 metric tons of wheat seed shipped into Helmand Province this month as "as part of an initiative by the Afghan government" (oh, come on, it's USAID) "to provide an alternative crop to poppy for farmers in the region," went 1,050 metric tons of fertilizer. This is supposed to give "farmers a better opportunity for success," but it will surely give Taliban a better chance at making bombs. Paticularly because the distribution is being handled by the "Afghan government," which, as we know, has "weekend jihadis" on its payroll.

Earlier this month -- before that 1,000-plus metric tons of fertilizer went into Helmand Province -- the New Jersey Star Ledger reported on the dangers of buried bombs in Helmand, where 90 percent of Marine operations are taking place on foot:

"We walk. This is not Iraq. We don't drive around," Cabaniss said.

Often, there's no other option, Marines here say. Mine resistant ambush protected vehicles, for example, are too big and heavy to allow nimble navigation of the labyrinth of irrigation canals and ditches in southern Helmand Province. Add to that the fact that the bulk of the population in southern Afghanistan is located in rural areas.

"To be amongst the people --

Drinking tea, eating goat...

-- you've got to walk out there," [Marine Col.] Cabaniss said.

The strategy of keeping up a security force presence is a main theme of the current International Security Assistance Forces' counterinsurgency campaign under way in Afghanistan. ...

Along with offerings of wheat and fertilizer. But:

Fertilizer-based homemade explosives are increasingly being used against Marine and Afghan troops in the Garmsir region of Helmand. Of the 13 Marines killed in the region since June, most all have been from IED attacks, said one military intelligence officer.

IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, act as a force multiplier for the Taliban in that they conserve fighters and resources, said Capt. Trevor Hunt, intelligence officer for 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines.

I wonder what the "intelligence officer" thinks about us force-multiplying the Taliban's force multiplier.

http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/1029/Stupidity-Explosion.aspx

No comments: