Taliban Opens Fire On Funeral Service For Vicims Of Shooting Spree - Polidicks

[quote=The Washington Post]BALANDI, Afghanistan (AP) – Seconds after the Afghan president's brothers stepped outside the village mosque where they had been attending a memorial ceremony Tuesday for 16 civilians allegedly killed by a U.S. soldier, the Taliban opened fire. An Afghan army soldier protecting the two men — part of a high-level government delegation that was visiting one of the two villages where the killings took place — was shot in the head and died. The visitors escaped in their cars unharmed, but two other Afghan army personnel were wounded in the 20-minute gun battle that ensued. The ambush in the southern province of Kandahar came as images of the aftermath Sunday's killings spread across the country, and the public reaction — which at first seemed surprisingly muted — began to build. In the east, students staged the first significant protest in response to the killings, raising concerns about a repeat of the wave of violent demonstrations that rocked the nation after last month's burning of Qurans by troops at a U.S. base. Nine of the 16 civilians killed on Sunday were children and three were women. Some of their bodies were burnt after they were killed. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack on the delegation in Balandi village in Panjwai district, an area considered the birthplace of the militant group. Previously, the movement had vowed to behead those responsible for the shootings. Afghans in Jalalabad burn an effigy of President Obama during protests Tuesday in response to the killing of 16 civilians by a U.S. soldier. The militants rode to the village on motorcycles, police said. They ambushed the delegation from the cover of a distant row of trees. Afghan security forces fired back, killing three militants, said Gen. Abdul Razaq, the Kandahar police chief. The two Afghan army personnel who were wounded included a soldier and a military prosecutor, he said.[/quote] [url]http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/story/2012-03-13/Afghanistan-killings/53506114/1[/url]

Wow, the taliban are like the biggest idiots. The one chance for them to win support and they destroyed that chance.

"We will take revenge by shooting the victims!"

Atleast no civilians were hurt. This wont probably be the last act of violence that will stem from these events.

I'm puzzled as to what their goal was in this attack. Was it the assassination of the president's brothers? Or just to create fear?

[QUOTE=King Tiger;35120914]I'm puzzled as to what their goal was in this attack. Was it the assassination of the president's brothers? Or just to create fear?[/QUOTE] Probably both, but they took an incident that could have given them some support and made themselves look like a bunch of assholes. These people are pretty dumb.

They only think about shooting and killing.

what a buncha scrubs

You'd think they'd be trying to gain support at this thing rather than shooting the place up.

The Taliban's whole regime was built on fear. They're trying to get that fear back and dun goof'd it up.

[QUOTE=Ignhelper;35120879]Wow, the taliban are like the biggest idiots. The one chance for them to win support and they destroyed that chance.[/QUOTE] Not necessarily. As far as I understand it, Iraq is a bit split in-so-far as religion is concerned, with 65% Shia and 35% Sunni, which could have influenced this attack. In addition, much like Afghanistan, the populace looks to the government as being far to willing to work with the American and European governments, which could have also influenced this attack. Additionally, killing the president's brother, or even attacking, presents a message that I'm sure the Taliban wanted to get across, which is: Force the Western powers to leave. Certainly, this isn't the smartest decision they have ever made, but it isn't the dumbest either. And while the Taliban were built on fear, they had that fear because they had strength. With their strength severely limited compared to before, their goal now is probably to win over the populace.

[QUOTE=tinhead50;35121127]Not necessarily. As far as I understand it, Iraq is a bit split in-so-far as religion is concerned, with 65% Shia and 35% Sunni, which could have influenced this attack. In addition, much like Afghanistan, the populace looks to the government as being far to willing to work with the American and European governments, which could have also influenced this attack. Additionally, killing the president's brother, or even attacking, presents a message that I'm sure the Taliban wanted to get across, which is: Force the Western powers to leave. Certainly, this isn't the smartest decision they have ever made, but it isn't the dumbest either. And while the Taliban were built on fear, they had that fear because they had strength. With their strength severely limited compared to before, their goal now is probably to win over the populace.[/QUOTE] Why would religious splits in Iraq have anything to do with killings in Afghanistan?

Yeah! Let's kill to avenge killing. Makes perfect sense! /sarcasm

I can't even imagine the pain and sorrow those living relatives must be feeling right now. So much to take in...just horrible.

Guys they were trying to assassinate the Pres. brothers.

[QUOTE=faze;35121511]Yeah! Let's kill to avenge killing. Makes perfect sense! /sarcasm[/QUOTE] To be fair, think about why the US is there, 9/11. Well, Bush would have found an excuse anyways, but that fit the bill.

[QUOTE=kaven;35121470]Why would religious splits in Iraq have anything to do with killings in Afghanistan?[/QUOTE] Aha, I read this was in Iraq for some reason. Throw that point out, but the rest still stands. The Afghan population is hating America and NATO more by the day because of increasingly stupid situations like the Qur'an book burnings and this. This only leads to the populace getting more angry at their government for essentially stepping aside.

I don't follow their logic. "We'll win the public's hearts and minds by shooting them in their hearts and minds!"

[QUOTE=tinhead50;35123134]Aha, I read this was in Iraq for some reason. Throw that point out, but the rest still stands. The Afghan population is hating America and NATO more by the day because of increasingly stupid situations like the Qur'an book burnings and this. This only leads to the populace getting more angry at their government for essentially stepping aside.[/QUOTE] I watched a documentary about two years ago where it seemed like most of the rural Afghans they talked to were mainly pissed at the coalition for doing a shit job of protecting them from the Taliban. Seems unlikely they would turn to the Taliban

[QUOTE=Ericson666;35122464]To be fair, think about why the US is there, 9/11. Well, Bush would have found an excuse anyways, but that fit the bill.[/QUOTE] Bush is a nutjob.

[QUOTE=tinhead50;35123134]Aha, I read this was in Iraq for some reason. Throw that point out, but the rest still stands. The Afghan population is hating America and NATO more by the day because of increasingly stupid situations like the Qur'an book burnings and this. This only leads to the populace getting more angry at their government for essentially stepping aside.[/QUOTE] Any war that can't be won within 10 years is not worth fighting.

Sounds like the ANA were operating alone to protect the VIPs at the service. Good to hear they're actually becoming effective for real. Still, the Taliban really are dumb. Gain support of the Afghans by trying to kill more Afghans at a funeral for dead Afghans. Hurrr.

They should have blown up a truck in the far distance to distract the guards and proceed to unload on them from the audience with assault rifles. You don't get any respect points for shooting " from the cover of a distant row of trees. " That's cowardly and unprofessional- you have your deity on your side for crying out loud!

Not bad for the ANA. They didn't run from the fight, and they killed three militants.

[QUOTE=King Tiger;35120914]I'm puzzled as to what their goal was in this attack. Was it the assassination of the president's brothers? Or just to create fear?[/QUOTE] To prove that they can kill and oppress people way better than the US

[QUOTE=ghosevil;35125894]They should have blown up a truck in the far distance to distract the guards and proceed to unload on them from the audience with assault rifles. You don't get any respect points for shooting " from the cover of a distant row of trees. " That's cowardly and unprofessional- you have your deity on your side for crying out loud![/QUOTE] Because they have all sorts of coordination and plan-making skills.

[QUOTE=Ignhelper;35120879]Wow, the taliban are like the biggest idiots. The one chance for them to win support and they destroyed that chance.[/QUOTE] The U.S. did this too.

We need to stage the Taliban with burning qurans so everyone goes after them.

Well they attacked the people who attended the funeral for dead Taliban forces.

[QUOTE=ghosevil;35125894]They should have blown up a truck in the far distance to distract the guards and proceed to unload on them from the audience with assault rifles. You don't get any respect points for shooting " from the cover of a distant row of trees. " That's cowardly and unprofessional- you have your deity on your side for crying out loud![/QUOTE] Cool thanks, if we ever need someone to plan how to slaughter civilians who are attending a funeral in the most efficient way possible I will put ghosevil, master tactician on speed dial