Afghan weapons cache explosion kills seven U.S. soldiers, injures three

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/01/29/international1358EST0627.DTL

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Seven U.S. soldiers were killed and three injured in an explosion Thursday, U.S. Central Command said. One American soldier was missing.

An Afghan interpreter also was injured in the 3 p.m. explosion near the city of Ghazni, 60 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul. The soldiers had been working around a weapons cache when the blast happened, Centcom said in a statement.

... Earlier this month, the U.S. death toll in the two-year war in Afghanistan reached 100.

Only 16 Americans died in the lightning war that drove the Taliban from power at the end of 2001 for providing a refuge and base for Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11, attacks. The rest of the Americans died after the Taliban's defeat.

more

[underpants]

1. Uggh

:sad:

[Flagg]

3. Bring 'em on ?

[bif]

2. How many is that this week? And it's only Thursday!

[htuttle]

4. I think there have been about 18-20 soldiers killed this week. so far

There were 6 one day, 7 today, 3 another day, and I think at least 2-3 more early in the week.

[Chico Man]

8. But we certainly won't have any more "USS Coles" to worry about

:eyes:

[xchrom]

5. more!?!

well i guess this is what america wants -- personally, their young lives are worth so much more. let's wave those flags, folks.

[okieinpain]

12. damn straight, less people to file for unemployment. sorry couldn't

help it.

[markses]

6. Not exactly an auspicious kick off to the fabled Spring offensive

Terrible.

Accident? Hmmm. Two days ago a suicide blast in Kabul kills a Canadian and wounds several others. Yesterday a blast kills a British soldier in Aghanistan. Today, a weapons cache explosion kills 7, and possibly 8 Americans. Accident? Perhaps...

[spinbaby]

7. Fabled Spring offensive?

Do tell.

[leftchick]

9. here you go....

rummy is all set to get osama for aWol* this spring!!....
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=334852

[spinbaby]

15. Thanks

I missed that.

I guess things aren't quite so under control as they'd have us believe.

[louis-t]

18. will sacrifice thousands more to get OBL for bushie..

'Now guys, we gotta plan this perfectly cuz we let this Bon Larden feller get away before so once we get him we'll go on an' say there's still more work to do an' all that shit an' then we say we found Saddam's WMD in Syria an' we hit them an' of course right around July 4th it's BINGO Orange Alert an' then.....

[markses]

10. It's been all over the news for the last day

The US is planning a spring offensive against the Taliban and al-Quaeda, possibly pushing into the frontier areas of Pakistan in search of OBL.

Looks like the Taliban are engaging in a little late-winter offensive of their own.

[htuttle]

11. Are they sure that we are giving the Taliban/Al Queda enough lead time?

I mean, the Bush administration is only announcing this offensive this week. That only gives Al Queda a few months to prepare. Perhaps the administration should ask them if they need more time to get ready...

:eyes:

[Chico Man]

13. But the announcement of the offensive is definetly not political

They are just continuing the wonderful legacy of "Bush transparency".

[markses]

14. Expect complex trench systems

And flack corridors.

Bush, Inc. is filled with truly dangerous imbeciles.

[leftchick]

19. not to mention this "operation" points out the outright lies he spouts

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't chimpass* say in every freaking campaign speech, every freaking day that Afghanistan is a "success"? That the "Taliban and al-queda have been driven from their hideouts and are no more" in all his terra, terra talk? The disconnect is unreal....

[hatrack]

16. Afgha-what? Where's that?

From page A23 to page A1, if only for a day.

Sad. Fucking sad.

[iverglas]

22. well hell

From page A23 to page A1, if only for a day.

They were amurricans, so at least they got that.

Meanwhile, sinking into the DU archives:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=337151

... And then, I wonder how many AFGHANIS died in the time period in question?

.

[Karenina]

23. Can anyone post

that picture from National Geographic of the girl with the green eyes? I saw a "recent" pic of her, didn't save it, too depressing.

[iverglas]

24. update on the "green-eyed girl"

I watched the Australian TV documentary about the search for the green-eyed girl last year, on CBC Newsworld:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/documentaries/stories/s676998.htm
The original photographer searched for her in Afghanistan after the US invasion.

Sharbat has been photographed on only two occasions: in 1984 and at the reunion with Steve McCurry this year. She had never seen her famous portrait before it was shown to her in January.

http://www.foximas.com/in-search-of-the-afghan-girl-video.htm
You can buy it for $19.95.

Has the "Afghan Girl" survived?
With a lot of detective work and a little luck, the National Geographic team, together with McCurry, finds a woman who could be the "Afghan Girl." How can they confirm that this is the same person as the child photographed nearly 20 years ago? National Geographic uses several methods, including state of the art iris recognition, the FBI facial recognition techniques and the technology used by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Sigourney Weaver narrates.

For the original pic, go to Google "Images" search and ask for "green eyes" (in quotation marks like that) -- several showed up on the first page of results. Ah, here we are -- a big clear image:






.

[MaineDem]

17. Damn damn damn

Seven more families to get that dreaded notification. Seven more families to grieve. Seven lives lost.

It's sad. I think we should have paid more attention to what the Russians learned back in the 80s.

[leetrisck]

20. hey, bush, (he's on tv now) - you've just

helped create job openings in Afghanistan. This little wimp in a belt buckle is sheer evil.

[daleo]

21. You have to wonder

What set off the blast, especially in light of the Canadian and two British killed earlier this week by suicide bombers. If Bush wouldn't have went into Iraq, perhaps the situation in Afghanistan could have progressed more. Although, one wonders if any world power really wants a stable state in Afghanistan anyway.