Quote:
Originally Posted by KillerK
you really think if we left Iraq alone we could win Afgan? Russia tried for years to win that war and never could and they did shit we would never do to people they captured or killed.
|
Back in Nov 2001, US Delta almost had Bin Laden in the Tora Bora mountain war.
The campaign included less than 35 Deltas and 12 UK SBS (in addition to General Ali and General Zumans local Muhj fighters).
Very brief reasons why the mission failed.
1) General Ali (self proclaimed Mujahideen general) a clueless bastard who was more interested in prancing for the media to further his own career. The Delta's were here to support him and his Muhj fighters, that was their orders - and if they got the chance, to kill Bin Laden and take as many Al-Qaeda as possible
2) The Mujahideen - General Alis so called hardend fighters were in reality not very effective at all. For one, they're not really trained. It was also the middle of Rhamadan, so they would fight during the day (if you could call it fighting because their tactics were to haphazzardly fire their AKs over rocks while launching a few RPG's towards the mountain defences). Once they gained some ground, they would loot any dead Al-Qaeda before returning to their villages because they wanted to go home when it got dark. In the morning they would repeat the same medieval style tactics having to gain the same ground again, then going home lol.
3) General Haji Zuman (Another self procalimed General and General Alis rival in the region) again, more interested in furthering his own position in Afghanistan and probably one of the main reasons Bin Laden escaped to Pakistan.
4) That Delta were not allowed additional forces or to event try secure the potential rear escape route to Pakistan.
Delta were not allowed to play a large part in the early campaign (they weren't even described as being anywhere near the area). They were all dressed like Muhj fighters with full beards to blend into the local look and had to avoid the media circus in the area at all costs. General Ali didn't want any American to get hurt in the fight.
It wasn't until Delta managed to prove to General Ali that an unrelenting pin point bombing campaign and night attacks would inflict heavy casualties on the Al-Qaeda fighters and allow them further into the mountains that real progress began. Of course, they had to do the night attacks on their own, the Muhj were back at home in bed.
The Delta bombing campaign was highly successful in the most attrocious day and night conditions. They would locate enemy mountain positions, mortar emplacements and heavy gun locations before calling the co-ordinates into the air force to hit them with Jdam bombs.
In the thick their campaign (and towards the end of Rhamadan), the Delta radio crews intercepting Bin Ladens radio frequencies heard Bin Laden himself pardon any fighter to leave the mountains and that Allah had not come forward with victory for them, their campiagn was that intense. A ceasfire was called with the intention of Bin Laden surrendering.
Zuman pretty much ballsed up the surrender of Bin Laden, although it is now suspected that he was resposible for a delaying tactic to either allow Bin Laden to re-group or to allow him to escape to Pakistan. Delta would have had Bin Laden without a doubt.
Any American should be very pround of Delta squad (the SBS were also very highly regarded by Delta too). In less than a month, the Delta's managed to accomplish more than the soviets did in 10 years....with less than 50 operatives and against a very motivated Al-Qaeda force entrenched in an almost perfect defensive fortress.