1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Taliban kill French paratroopers in Afghanistan, attacks U.S. base

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by 2muchcoffeeman, Aug 19, 2008.

  1. 2muchcoffeeman

    2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

    http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i8dGftYb0s4XWdUMRdIVs3vh1CKAD92LEMO01

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  2. Blitz

    Blitz Active Member

    A good story on BBC radio set to air tonight or soon, was previewed this morning as I drove to work.

    The soundbite in the teaser asked Afgan. folks on the street "name one intellectual in your country that supports the Taliban"
    Nobody could name one.

    Story is said to indicate that Taliban is loathed, bigtime, by most inside that country. Good to hear.
     
  3. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    I mentioned it on a different thread a while back, but there's a great book about the events surrounding that June 2005 crash called "Lone Survivor". The guys on the helicopter were all SEALs and army special ops guys. They were flying into the mountains, in broad daylight, to rescue four SEALs who were on a mission to capture or kill a Taliban leader. As the chopper hovered to make the insertion, some Taliban fired an RPG right up the back ramp. Poor bastards never had a chance.
    The four SEALs had been ratted out by a group of goatherders they had captured and let go, fearing the legal repercussions if they executed them. A couple hours later, the four SEALs got into a running battle with several hundred Taliban and three of them were killed. The fourth survived in the mountains for a couple of days, wounded and on the run, before he was taken in by some friendly tribesmen. They protected him from the Taliban until the village elder walked through the mountains to a U.S. base to pass the word the SEAL was still alive.
    The SEAL was eventually rescued by a platoon of Army Rangers, and a couple years later he wrote the book to honor the memory of his comrades. It's got some phenomenal detail about the mission, and the parts where the SEAL talks about his friends dying (one of them, literally, in his arms; another, his best friend, screamed to this SEAL for help just before the Taliban finished him off from close range) will bring tears to your eyes.
    Phenomenal book. Can't recommend it enough. Not only a moving story on several levels, but an interesting look into the nuts and bolts of the Afghanistan war and what really happens on some of these missions.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page