• UK Prime Minister's helicopter was targeted by the Taliban in June
    50 replies, posted
[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11114791[/url] [quote=BBC News][b]The Taliban have revealed the base from which they planned to shoot down the prime minister's helicopter during his first visit to Afghanistan in June.[/b] A Taliban spokesman told the BBC the attack would have been launched from a base in Washir, north-west Helmand. David Cameron's plans were changed at the last minute when intercepts of Taliban radio messages showed that they knew which helicopter he was flying in. Downing Street said it did not comment on the prime minister's security plans. Number 10 is reported to be rethinking scheduling and media plans for future visits to take the risks into account. BBC world affairs correspondent David Loyn said any claims from the Taliban had to be be treated with extreme scepticism, especially coming two months after the diversion of the prime minister's flight. But, when contacted by the BBC, the Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi added one piece of information to what was already known - the location of the team planning to shoot the helicopter down. He said that the Taliban attack was to be launched from their base at Washir, in the north-west of the main conflict zone in Helmand. He would not reveal the source of the Taliban's information about the flight, nor the weapons they were planning to use. [b]Trip diverted[/b] Mr Cameron's location was known because, unusually, he had visited Kabul first, holding a media conference with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, before going on to Helmand. He was forced to abandon a visit to British troops serving at the front-line patrol base at Shahzad because of the fears of a Taliban attack. The RAF Chinook carrying the prime minister and his entourage was instead diverted to the main operating base in the capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gah, at the last minute. A former British commander in Afghanistan, Colonel Richard Kemp, told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: "We sometimes underestimate the Taliban's sophistication (and) intelligence-collection capability, and they are very, very good at it." The Taliban had "sources in many places", he said, including within the Afghan security forces and "even in military bases". But Col Kemp said it was important that people in Britain and Afghanistan were able to see the "commitment" of the prime minister, adding: "You can't hide behind security to the exclusion of all else. He has to be out and about, he has to be seen." He suggested more attention, though, be given to the planning of future visits, with press conferences coming at the end of trips so as to minimise the amount of time available to the Taliban to plan any attack. He said: "It's very important that we don't lose the prime minister. The massive victory that we hand to the Taliban by shooting his helicopter down, or even a near miss, would be very significant." BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said: "There's no official comment from Downing Street, but it's clear they are taking the security warnings seriously and rethinking the scheduling and media arrangements for future visits to take far greater account of the risks involved." Earlier this year, police concerns about Mr Cameron's security were reported over the prime minister's insistence on walking around Whitehall and refusing motorcycle escorts. In the past, visits to war zones by senior politicians and officials have often been subject to news blackouts until nearer the end of the trip, as was the case with the recent journey by Defence Secretary Liam Fox.[/quote]
Close call
Woah, Jesus.
That would of been a hell of a propaganda boost for them.
Damn, that would have been... Well I doubt it'd have any impact because people dont care for our PM [editline]05:51PM[/editline] Oh the pilots will be missed, I guess
[QUOTE=Asm;24387502]Damn, that would have been... Well I doubt it'd have any impact because people dont care for our PM [editline]05:51PM[/editline] Oh the pilots will be missed, I guess[/QUOTE] hurr durr I'm against Cameron so I speak for everyone.
[QUOTE=David29;24387666]hurr durr I'm against Cameron so I speak for everyone.[/QUOTE] You're implying everybody likes him? [img]http://j.imagehost.org/0848/Pffpffp.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Asm;24388392]You're implying everybody likes him? [img_thumb]http://j.imagehost.org/0848/Pffpffp.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] Because only people in UK use google?
Cameron is a cool cool cat.
[QUOTE=Asm;24388392]You're implying everybody likes him?[/QUOTE] What? No. You're saying that everyone hates him. I'm saying that just because you hate him doesn't mean you represent the views of the entire nation and thus saying that "everyone" hates him is nothing more than a poorly made assumption which you are trying to put forward as fact. Besides, I like him so therefore your statement of "everyone" hating him is incorrect.
damnit taliban, get your act together. they need to try harder.
I don't like conservatives just the word reeks of going backwards to me.
[QUOTE=Bengley;24389432]damnit taliban, get your act together. they need to try harder.[/QUOTE] :iceburn:
While I'm glad that they found out that the Taliban knew which helicopter he was going to be in and decided not to fly, if it [i]had[/i] happened, it would have been one hell of an interesting thing to happen.
That would not have been a good idea. The last thing the Taliban needs is for people to form a compact front against them.
I don't even get why they'd want to do this, we're withdrawing from Afghanistan in the next few years, surely assassinating our Prime Minister is just going to make us want to kick some ass?
[QUOTE=smurfy;24390749]I don't even get why they'd want to do this, we're withdrawing from Afghanistan in the next few years, surely assassinating our Prime Minister is just going to make us want to kick some ass?[/QUOTE] They don't seem to care about public opinion. Remember that these guys are happy to kill innocent foreign aid workers - and they are of no strategic importance. As far as the Taliban is concerned, killing a Western leader would be like hitting the jackpot.
[QUOTE=Chopstick;24389454]I don't like conservatives just the word reeks of going backwards to me.[/QUOTE] It reeks of more spending cuts to me.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;24390871]It reeks of more spending cuts to me.[/QUOTE] I wish you were our PM. Obviously you have a foolproof plan for reducing the deficit whilst not cutting spending.
[QUOTE=David29;24390977]I wish you were our PM. Obviously you have a foolproof plan for reducing the deficit whilst not cutting spending.[/QUOTE] Labour already had one, Cameron messed it up.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;24391013]Labour already had one, Cameron messed it up.[/QUOTE] What? It's Labour who put us into this mess in the first place. Besides, how can you be so quick to criticise the spending cuts? You have yet to see them be fully implemented. Sure, it won't be pretty but drastic times call for drastic measures - unless you would rather we did nothing and continued to spiral into debt.
[QUOTE=David29;24391266]What? It's Labour who put us into this mess in the first place. Besides, how can you be so quick to criticise the spending cuts? You have yet to see them be fully implemented. Sure, it won't be pretty but drastic times call for drastic measures - unless you would rather we did nothing and continued to spiral into debt.[/QUOTE] "David29" defending the Conservatives Who could it be
[QUOTE=smurfy;24391587]"David29" defending the Conservatives Who could it be[/QUOTE] Sorry for having a political view. I will ensure I am apolitical in the future.
[QUOTE=David29;24391266]What? It's Labour who put us into this mess in the first place. Besides, how can you be so quick to criticise the spending cuts? You have yet to see them be fully implemented. Sure, it won't be pretty but drastic times call for drastic measures - unless you would rather we did nothing and continued to spiral into debt.[/QUOTE] no it wasn't
[QUOTE=Asm;24388392]You're implying everybody likes him? [img]http://j.imagehost.org/0848/Pffpffp.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Dont be hatin... [IMG]http://3432.voxcdn.com/_images/articles/2008/12/26/cameron_frye.jpg[/IMG]
They failed? Shit.
ITT people argue about political opinions that nobody gives a shit about.
How did they know which helicopter he was in?
[QUOTE=David29;24391266]What? It's Labour who put us into this mess in the first place. Besides, how can you be so quick to criticise the spending cuts? You have yet to see them be fully implemented. Sure, it won't be pretty but drastic times call for drastic measures - unless you would rather we did nothing and continued to spiral into debt.[/QUOTE] Wow I wonder what will happen when all the spending cuts come in to play? Oh yeah, everything will fall apart. Labour where planning on using the shares in the various banks they bailed to create money, something Cameron isn't doing. I never liked Labour, but at least they didn't let the country fall apart becuase of cutting money from various public services. Just like the last time the Tory's got into power.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;24394949]Wow I wonder what will happen when all the spending cuts come in to play? Oh yeah, everything will fall apart. Labour where planning on using the shares in the various banks they bailed to create money, something Cameron isn't doing. I never liked Labour, but at least they didn't let the country fall apart becuase of cutting money from various public services. Just like the last time the Tory's got into power.[/QUOTE] a. No, they did let the country fall apart. b. The Tories haven't been in power long enough for you to make a sensible kind of judgement. c."I will judge the Tories plans even though I have no fucking clue what they involve yet."
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