Feedback: US Manufactured Mazar-e-Sharif Riot

Tuesday, 27 November 2001, 10:05 am
Opinion: Scoop Feedback

In This Edition: The Final Solution-Prison Riot-700 Foreign Taliban Killed - Guadalcanal Revisited?? – Kabul FM

The Final Solution - Prison Riot - 700 Foreign Taliban Killed

The initial news story was sent by a Russian reporter for Reuters. He was accompanied by US Military and CIA operatives.

The question of how to deal with foreign Taliban prisoners has been a thorn to the US. The US wants them dead or locked up forever. At first the NA summarily executed the prisoners but the world took note and the US couldn’t afford the bad publicity.

The pro-Taliban fighters in Kunduz were promised fair trials. On that condition they surrendered. They were subsequently incarcerated at the fortress off Mazar.

Somehow the prisoners while under guard acquired enough weapons to take over the prison fortress. The area surrounding the prison is controlled by US led Northern Alliance. Even, if the prisoners took over the prison, they had nowhere to go and in time would be starved into submission.

These men had just surrendered at Kunduz. They were not desperate. What would make them now attempt a suicidal escape? Were the prisoners told they would be executed like the others?

The US response to the revolt was to bomb the prison killing 700 at first reports. This was not a justified response as the situation was contained.

Did the US make the guns available to prisoners? Was the prison riot used as a pretext for achieving the final solution?

r.mattmer

Guadalcanal Revisited??

Dear Editor,

Commanding Officer of the US Forces landing team, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Bourne, addressing his troops on the eve of their departure for an airstrip near Kandahar is reported to have said:

"Sixty years ago the United States was attached at Pearl Harbour. Nine months later marines landed at Guadalcanal. Eleven weeks ago our country was attacked again. This is your Guadalcanal"

At the time of the first landings on Guadalcanal, historians estimate the troop numbers to have consisted of 19,514 US Landing forces and 3,457 Japanese Ground forces.

By the end of the campaign, there had been 1,598 US forces killed and 4,709 wounded. The Japanese are reported to have lost 25,000 either killed in action or died through illness, wounds and starvation. Obviously they were able to land a considerable number of additional troops during the course of the campaign.

According to reported figures, the current troops available under the US Taskforce 58 comprise nearly 9,000 Marines and sailors. 1,000 of these Marines are on their way to face up to an estimated 12,000 regular Taleban soldiers and 5,000 foreign fighters.

Notwithstanding the air and technical superiority enjoyed by the US forces, should things get down to hand-to-hand combat let us all hope that this, hopefully, final push against the Taleban does not indeed become their Guadalcanal.

Mirek Marcanik

Kabul FM

The Top 10 songs played on 95.8 Kabul FM on Sunday....

1. Losing my religion - REM (Raving Edict Mullah mix)
2. Unchained Mullahdy - The Self Righteous Brothers
3. Aid Drops Keep Falling on my Head - Johnny Farnham
4. Living on a Prayer mat - TaliBon Jovi
5. Tented love - Soft (Terrorist) Cell
6. Boy George Bush & Capture Club - Do you really want to shoot me?
7. Rockin Allah-ver the World - Status Quaeda
8. I'm too extremist for my turban - Right Said Mullah Mohammed Omar
9. The Ayatollah Skank - Fatwa Boy Slim
10. (Come up and find me) Mecca me smile - Steve Harley & Northern Rebel Alliance

James Addis

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