Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'

A routine mission for a small unit of US troops based here turned into a
fight for their lives when they came up against a group of suspected
Taleban militants along the border with Pakistan.

It did not make any headlines. It was just another incident among many
in this volatile region.

But it gives an insight into why the US-led coalition is having such
difficulty defeating the insurgency that has affected much of eastern
and southern Afghanistan for the past two years.

It was 25 June. Second Lt Louis Fernandez had led seven members of his
platoon to the top of Peak 2911.

A distinctive, bulging mountain straddling the frontier, it gets its
name from its height in metres.

QUICK GUIDE

Afghanistan

The night before, a US artillery battery had shelled the peak after
lights had been seen there.

The suspicion was that insurgents might be using it as a launch site to
fire rockets on American and Afghan troops - an almost daily occurrence
for units based along the border.

'Taking fire'

Lt Fernandez and his men from the 2/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment,
part of the 82nd Airborne Division, had been ordered to do a "battle
damage assessment", to see if anything had been hit.

An Afghan officer, Capt Mohammed Islamuddin, and two interpreters were
with them.

They found nothing except a well-travelled trail. They decided to follow
it. As they moved down the path, Capt Islamuddin says he spotted a man
in local clothes about 200-300 metres away, carrying a Kalashnikov.

Staff Sgt McKenna Miller says he saw another man near some trees raising
his Kalashnikov.

Sgt Miller raised his weapon. "I asked for permission to fire."

"I told Sgt Miller to shoot," says 22-year-old Lt Fernandez. "He pulled
the trigger and hit the guy right in the head and put him down.

"Immediately after, we started taking fire from another direction," he
says.

"That's when pretty much everything unravelled," says Sgt Miller, a
veteran of Iraq and the Balkans.

They realised they were up against "not two, but approximately 15 to 20
individuals", with a barrage of fire coming down on the US and Afghan
troops.

Where they were though, there was almost no cover. The only escape was
to move back towards the summit, the soldiers taking it in turns to
provide covering fire while others scrambled up the slope, fighting for
breath in the thin air at this altitude.

"I was starting to pray as I was running back," says Sgt Juan Carlos
Coca, the unit's radio operator. "There were rounds flying everywhere."

"We were definitely fighting for our lives," says Sgt Miller.

Pursuers' advantage

For Sgt Coca, this is his second time in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne.

In between, he was also in Iraq, in southern Baghdad.

"I expected this to be the easiest deployment of the three," he admits.
"But so far it's been the hardest. We've basically come to a hornets'
nest, here on the border with Pakistan."

The paratroopers say they were firing constantly to try to keep their
assailants back.

But "we were getting surrounded", says Sgt Coca. "And we had no comms at
all. The mountain was blocking radio signals, so they couldn't call for
back-up.

In this terrain, their pursuers had the advantage.

"They move a lot faster on these mountains than we do," says Lt Fernandez.

"They know all the routes. And they're just in better shape when it
comes to this. They're carrying no weight. We're carrying about 60 or 70
pounds (27kg-31kg) of equipment, so we're a lot slower."

Their lightly loaded attackers came closer and closer.

"They got within 20 or 30 metres," says Lt Fernandez. "You could see
those little tan hats they wear.

"We were hugging the dirt, most of the time just praying to God that He
was there for us. And He was definitely there for us, to just have one
guy take a ricochet round, with the amount of fire they were putting
down on us."

That one guy was Pte Ted Smith. A round hit him in the face, but went
straight through his cheek. "Blood was just pouring out of him," says
Sgt Miller, "but he just kept on firing."

Fortress

Pte Smith is expected to return to duty here soon at Camp Tillman -
named after Pat Tillman, the American footballer who famously turned
down millions of dollars to join the US military after 11 September but
who died in a "friendly fire" incident in Afghanistan in April last year.

When you visit this small, heavily defended redoubt, it conjures up
images of old French Foreign Legion fortresses deep in hostile North
African rebel territory.

Just across the border from the base - which sits near a tiny hamlet of
mud-brick houses - is the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan.

That has long regarded as one of the main areas where Taleban and also
al Qaeda militants have been sheltering. There have been reports of
Osama Bin Laden hiding there.

Although Pakistani forces were involved in bloody clashes with some of
these groups last year, there are concerns that many still remain and
have even bolstered their numbers.

Based on intelligence received afterwards, the US soldiers believe they
killed eight of their attackers. But talking about the fire fight to the
BBC a few days later, all of them say they were lucky not to have lost
anyone.

When they finally reached higher ground and safety "we were totally out
of breath, we could barely speak. We had almost no ammunition left,"
says Lt Fernandez, who was also inspired by 9/11 to join the forces. He
signed up on 14 September 2001.

Up here, Sgt Coca could get through on the radio, to call for air support.

A-10 aircraft arrived. But the soldiers say the pilots were not
permitted to open fire with their machine gun, or drop any ordnance
because the militants were in Pakistani territory.

"That just totally frustrates all of us," says Sgt Coca. "It's easy for
the enemy to shoot at us here in Afghanistan and then they just run a
couple of hundred metres into Pakistan and we can't do anything. They're
untouchable.

"We have that problem all the time," he says.

Sgt Miller agrees: "That's their safe haven, because they know that we
can't go over the border and they try to use that to their advantage."

The exact rules of engagement for US forces based along the border are
secret.

But it is clear from reports of different American operations that they
do have some leeway.

And at times during the battle at Peak 2911, this US unit did end up in
Pakistani territory.

But American troops are not allowed to chase attackers across the border.

Lt Fernandez says if they are "in pursuit of an enemy" they sometimes
call Pakistani government forces on the other side.

But asked if US forces here feel they get help from the Pakistanis, he
says: "I can't say that we do. No, not really."

Madrassas

Capt Islamuddin is more blunt. "Pakistan is interfering in Afghanistan.
They are sending the bad guys here. They say there are cooperating, but
they are not."

Capt Islamuddin has been based on the border with his 3rd Battalion for
the past five months and says he has seen many clashes. "Many of them
are foreigners," he says, "not Afghans."

It is a claim Afghan government officials often make about those behind
the attacks across the south and east.

But the evidence is often hard to find. Asked to give more detail, Capt
Islamuddin says he has seen the bodies of many militants close up after
battles he has been involved in.

"There are some stupid Afghans among them," he says. "But most of them
are Waziris [from Pakistan's Waziristan tribal agency], Chechens and
Arabs. They are all coming from the madrassas [religious schools] in
Pakistan."

Officially, the US military says Pakistan is cooperating closely with
its efforts to defeat the insurgency and US generals frequently praise
their counterparts across the border.

That is not how it appears to those on the frontline, to the young US
and Afghan troops actually doing the fighting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4657645.stm

--
Chris F.
Long Island.

"A country soars its highest when it soars on the Wings of Freedom."
God Bless America.

"America the Beautiful" wrote in message ...
Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'

Why not? You lot always drop bombs on your allies.


*Webzpider*


Homo Dumb****ius :
N onessential
R etarded
A mericans

Chris, little speckled idiot, I told you a couple of years ago that this sort of
thing would happen, but no, you claimed "Pakestan is right behind us, now they
are a democracy". sheesh

America the Beautiful wrote:

Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'

A routine mission for a small unit of US troops based here turned into a
fight for their lives when they came up against a group of suspected
Taleban militants along the border with Pakistan.

It did not make any headlines. It was just another incident among many
in this volatile region.

But it gives an insight into why the US-led coalition is having such
difficulty defeating the insurgency that has affected much of eastern
and southern Afghanistan for the past two years.

It was 25 June. Second Lt Louis Fernandez had led seven members of his
platoon to the top of Peak 2911.

A distinctive, bulging mountain straddling the frontier, it gets its
name from its height in metres.

QUICK GUIDE

Afghanistan

The night before, a US artillery battery had shelled the peak after
lights had been seen there.

The suspicion was that insurgents might be using it as a launch site to
fire rockets on American and Afghan troops - an almost daily occurrence
for units based along the border.

'Taking fire'

Lt Fernandez and his men from the 2/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment,
part of the 82nd Airborne Division, had been ordered to do a "battle
damage assessment", to see if anything had been hit.

An Afghan officer, Capt Mohammed Islamuddin, and two interpreters were
with them.

They found nothing except a well-travelled trail. They decided to follow
it. As they moved down the path, Capt Islamuddin says he spotted a man
in local clothes about 200-300 metres away, carrying a Kalashnikov.

Staff Sgt McKenna Miller says he saw another man near some trees raising
his Kalashnikov.

Sgt Miller raised his weapon. "I asked for permission to fire."

"I told Sgt Miller to shoot," says 22-year-old Lt Fernandez. "He pulled
the trigger and hit the guy right in the head and put him down.

"Immediately after, we started taking fire from another direction," he
says.

"That's when pretty much everything unravelled," says Sgt Miller, a
veteran of Iraq and the Balkans.

They realised they were up against "not two, but approximately 15 to 20
individuals", with a barrage of fire coming down on the US and Afghan
troops.

Where they were though, there was almost no cover. The only escape was
to move back towards the summit, the soldiers taking it in turns to
provide covering fire while others scrambled up the slope, fighting for
breath in the thin air at this altitude.

"I was starting to pray as I was running back," says Sgt Juan Carlos
Coca, the unit's radio operator. "There were rounds flying everywhere."

"We were definitely fighting for our lives," says Sgt Miller.

Pursuers' advantage

For Sgt Coca, this is his second time in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne.

In between, he was also in Iraq, in southern Baghdad.

"I expected this to be the easiest deployment of the three," he admits.
"But so far it's been the hardest. We've basically come to a hornets'
nest, here on the border with Pakistan."

The paratroopers say they were firing constantly to try to keep their
assailants back.

But "we were getting surrounded", says Sgt Coca. "And we had no comms at
all. The mountain was blocking radio signals, so they couldn't call for
back-up.

In this terrain, their pursuers had the advantage.

"They move a lot faster on these mountains than we do," says Lt Fernandez.

"They know all the routes. And they're just in better shape when it
comes to this. They're carrying no weight. We're carrying about 60 or 70
pounds (27kg-31kg) of equipment, so we're a lot slower."

Their lightly loaded attackers came closer and closer.

"They got within 20 or 30 metres," says Lt Fernandez. "You could see
those little tan hats they wear.

"We were hugging the dirt, most of the time just praying to God that He
was there for us. And He was definitely there for us, to just have one
guy take a ricochet round, with the amount of fire they were putting
down on us."

That one guy was Pte Ted Smith. A round hit him in the face, but went
straight through his cheek. "Blood was just pouring out of him," says
Sgt Miller, "but he just kept on firing."

Fortress

Pte Smith is expected to return to duty here soon at Camp Tillman -
named after Pat Tillman, the American footballer who famously turned
down millions of dollars to join the US military after 11 September but
who died in a "friendly fire" incident in Afghanistan in April last year.

When you visit this small, heavily defended redoubt, it conjures up
images of old French Foreign Legion fortresses deep in hostile North
African rebel territory.

Just across the border from the base - which sits near a tiny hamlet of
mud-brick houses - is the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan.

That has long regarded as one of the main areas where Taleban and also
al Qaeda militants have been sheltering. There have been reports of
Osama Bin Laden hiding there.

Although Pakistani forces were involved in bloody clashes with some of
these groups last year, there are concerns that many still remain and
have even bolstered their numbers.

Based on intelligence received afterwards, the US soldiers believe they
killed eight of their attackers. But talking about the fire fight to the
BBC a few days later, all of them say they were lucky not to have lost
anyone.

When they finally reached higher ground and safety "we were totally out
of breath, we could barely speak. We had almost no ammunition left,"
says Lt Fernandez, who was also inspired by 9/11 to join the forces. He
signed up on 14 September 2001.

Up here, Sgt Coca could get through on the radio, to call for air support.

A-10 aircraft arrived. But the soldiers say the pilots were not
permitted to open fire with their machine gun, or drop any ordnance
because the militants were in Pakistani territory.

"That just totally frustrates all of us," says Sgt Coca. "It's easy for
the enemy to shoot at us here in Afghanistan and then they just run a
couple of hundred metres into Pakistan and we can't do anything. They're
untouchable.

"We have that problem all the time," he says.

Sgt Miller agrees: "That's their safe haven, because they know that we
can't go over the border and they try to use that to their advantage."

The exact rules of engagement for US forces based along the border are
secret.

But it is clear from reports of different American operations that they
do have some leeway.

And at times during the battle at Peak 2911, this US unit did end up in
Pakistani territory.

But American troops are not allowed to chase attackers across the border.

Lt Fernandez says if they are "in pursuit of an enemy" they sometimes
call Pakistani government forces on the other side.

But asked if US forces here feel they get help from the Pakistanis, he
says: "I can't say that we do. No, not really."

Madrassas

Capt Islamuddin is more blunt. "Pakistan is interfering in Afghanistan.
They are sending the bad guys here. They say there are cooperating, but
they are not."

Capt Islamuddin has been based on the border with his 3rd Battalion for
the past five months and says he has seen many clashes. "Many of them
are foreigners," he says, "not Afghans."

It is a claim Afghan government officials often make about those behind
the attacks across the south and east.

But the evidence is often hard to find. Asked to give more detail, Capt
Islamuddin says he has seen the bodies of many militants close up after
battles he has been involved in.

"There are some stupid Afghans among them," he says. "But most of them
are Waziris [from Pakistan's Waziristan tribal agency], Chechens and
Arabs. They are all coming from the madrassas [religious schools] in
Pakistan."

Officially, the US military says Pakistan is cooperating closely with
its efforts to defeat the insurgency and US generals frequently praise
their counterparts across the border.

That is not how it appears to those on the frontline, to the young US
and Afghan troops actually doing the fighting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4657645.stm

--
Chris F.
Long Island.

"A country soars its highest when it soars on the Wings of Freedom."
God Bless America.

Well knowing how the Americans fire, they'll end up nuking Australia!!

Loony T

"Greg Procter" wrote in message
...
Chris, little speckled idiot, I told you a couple of years ago that this
sort of
thing would happen, but no, you claimed "Pakestan is right behind us, now
they
are a democracy". sheesh

America the Beautiful wrote:

Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'

A routine mission for a small unit of US troops based here turned into a
fight for their lives when they came up against a group of suspected
Taleban militants along the border with Pakistan.

It did not make any headlines. It was just another incident among many
in this volatile region.

But it gives an insight into why the US-led coalition is having such
difficulty defeating the insurgency that has affected much of eastern
and southern Afghanistan for the past two years.

It was 25 June. Second Lt Louis Fernandez had led seven members of his
platoon to the top of Peak 2911.

A distinctive, bulging mountain straddling the frontier, it gets its
name from its height in metres.

QUICK GUIDE

Afghanistan

The night before, a US artillery battery had shelled the peak after
lights had been seen there.

The suspicion was that insurgents might be using it as a launch site to
fire rockets on American and Afghan troops - an almost daily occurrence
for units based along the border.

'Taking fire'

Lt Fernandez and his men from the 2/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment,
part of the 82nd Airborne Division, had been ordered to do a "battle
damage assessment", to see if anything had been hit.

An Afghan officer, Capt Mohammed Islamuddin, and two interpreters were
with them.

They found nothing except a well-travelled trail. They decided to follow
it. As they moved down the path, Capt Islamuddin says he spotted a man
in local clothes about 200-300 metres away, carrying a Kalashnikov.

Staff Sgt McKenna Miller says he saw another man near some trees raising
his Kalashnikov.

Sgt Miller raised his weapon. "I asked for permission to fire."

"I told Sgt Miller to shoot," says 22-year-old Lt Fernandez. "He pulled
the trigger and hit the guy right in the head and put him down.

"Immediately after, we started taking fire from another direction," he
says.

"That's when pretty much everything unravelled," says Sgt Miller, a
veteran of Iraq and the Balkans.

They realised they were up against "not two, but approximately 15 to 20
individuals", with a barrage of fire coming down on the US and Afghan
troops.

Where they were though, there was almost no cover. The only escape was
to move back towards the summit, the soldiers taking it in turns to
provide covering fire while others scrambled up the slope, fighting for
breath in the thin air at this altitude.

"I was starting to pray as I was running back," says Sgt Juan Carlos
Coca, the unit's radio operator. "There were rounds flying everywhere."

"We were definitely fighting for our lives," says Sgt Miller.

Pursuers' advantage

For Sgt Coca, this is his second time in Afghanistan with the 82nd
Airborne.

In between, he was also in Iraq, in southern Baghdad.

"I expected this to be the easiest deployment of the three," he admits.
"But so far it's been the hardest. We've basically come to a hornets'
nest, here on the border with Pakistan."

The paratroopers say they were firing constantly to try to keep their
assailants back.

But "we were getting surrounded", says Sgt Coca. "And we had no comms at
all. The mountain was blocking radio signals, so they couldn't call for
back-up.

In this terrain, their pursuers had the advantage.

"They move a lot faster on these mountains than we do," says Lt
Fernandez.

"They know all the routes. And they're just in better shape when it
comes to this. They're carrying no weight. We're carrying about 60 or 70
pounds (27kg-31kg) of equipment, so we're a lot slower."

Their lightly loaded attackers came closer and closer.

"They got within 20 or 30 metres," says Lt Fernandez. "You could see
those little tan hats they wear.

"We were hugging the dirt, most of the time just praying to God that He
was there for us. And He was definitely there for us, to just have one
guy take a ricochet round, with the amount of fire they were putting
down on us."

That one guy was Pte Ted Smith. A round hit him in the face, but went
straight through his cheek. "Blood was just pouring out of him," says
Sgt Miller, "but he just kept on firing."

Fortress

Pte Smith is expected to return to duty here soon at Camp Tillman -
named after Pat Tillman, the American footballer who famously turned
down millions of dollars to join the US military after 11 September but
who died in a "friendly fire" incident in Afghanistan in April last year.

When you visit this small, heavily defended redoubt, it conjures up
images of old French Foreign Legion fortresses deep in hostile North
African rebel territory.

Just across the border from the base - which sits near a tiny hamlet of
mud-brick houses - is the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan.

That has long regarded as one of the main areas where Taleban and also
al Qaeda militants have been sheltering. There have been reports of
Osama Bin Laden hiding there.

Although Pakistani forces were involved in bloody clashes with some of
these groups last year, there are concerns that many still remain and
have even bolstered their numbers.

Based on intelligence received afterwards, the US soldiers believe they
killed eight of their attackers. But talking about the fire fight to the
BBC a few days later, all of them say they were lucky not to have lost
anyone.

When they finally reached higher ground and safety "we were totally out
of breath, we could barely speak. We had almost no ammunition left,"
says Lt Fernandez, who was also inspired by 9/11 to join the forces. He
signed up on 14 September 2001.

Up here, Sgt Coca could get through on the radio, to call for air
support.

A-10 aircraft arrived. But the soldiers say the pilots were not
permitted to open fire with their machine gun, or drop any ordnance
because the militants were in Pakistani territory.

"That just totally frustrates all of us," says Sgt Coca. "It's easy for
the enemy to shoot at us here in Afghanistan and then they just run a
couple of hundred metres into Pakistan and we can't do anything. They're
untouchable.

"We have that problem all the time," he says.

Sgt Miller agrees: "That's their safe haven, because they know that we
can't go over the border and they try to use that to their advantage."

The exact rules of engagement for US forces based along the border are
secret.

But it is clear from reports of different American operations that they
do have some leeway.

And at times during the battle at Peak 2911, this US unit did end up in
Pakistani territory.

But American troops are not allowed to chase attackers across the border.

Lt Fernandez says if they are "in pursuit of an enemy" they sometimes
call Pakistani government forces on the other side.

But asked if US forces here feel they get help from the Pakistanis, he
says: "I can't say that we do. No, not really."

Madrassas

Capt Islamuddin is more blunt. "Pakistan is interfering in Afghanistan.
They are sending the bad guys here. They say there are cooperating, but
they are not."

Capt Islamuddin has been based on the border with his 3rd Battalion for
the past five months and says he has seen many clashes. "Many of them
are foreigners," he says, "not Afghans."

It is a claim Afghan government officials often make about those behind
the attacks across the south and east.

But the evidence is often hard to find. Asked to give more detail, Capt
Islamuddin says he has seen the bodies of many militants close up after
battles he has been involved in.

"There are some stupid Afghans among them," he says. "But most of them
are Waziris [from Pakistan's Waziristan tribal agency], Chechens and
Arabs. They are all coming from the madrassas [religious schools] in
Pakistan."

Officially, the US military says Pakistan is cooperating closely with
its efforts to defeat the insurgency and US generals frequently praise
their counterparts across the border.

That is not how it appears to those on the frontline, to the young US
and Afghan troops actually doing the fighting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4657645.stm

--
Chris F.
Long Island.

"A country soars its highest when it soars on the Wings of Freedom."
God Bless America.

"...suspected Taleban militants...". Probably on their way to market but as
they looked like 'foreigners', shot them any way. I do feel so much better
knowing that the Americans are saving our sorry arse again. Where would we
be without them?

Loony T

"Uncle Fester" wrote in message
enews.net...
America the Beautiful wrote

Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'

A routine mission for a small unit of US troops based here turned into a
fight for their lives when they came up against a group of suspected
Taleban militants along the border with Pakistan.


On that basis you merkins should nuke Mexico.

Webzpider wrote:

"America the Beautiful" wrote in message ...

Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'


Why not? You lot always drop bombs on your allies.

When did we do that?

--
Chris F.
Long Island.

"A country soars its highest when it soars on the Wings of Freedom."
God Bless America.

"America the Beautiful" wrote in message ...


Webzpider wrote:

"America the Beautiful" wrote in message
...

Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'


Why not? You lot always drop bombs on your allies.

When did we do that?

Remember the Iraq war? You bombed the Kurds and
the Brits.

Uncle Fester wrote:

America the Beautiful wrote


Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'

A routine mission for a small unit of US troops based here turned into a
fight for their lives when they came up against a group of suspected
Taleban militants along the border with Pakistan.



On that basis you merkins should nuke Mexico.

OK. When should we start?

--
Chris F.
Long Island.

"A country soars its highest when it soars on the Wings of Freedom."
God Bless America.

Loony Tune wrote:

Well knowing how the Americans fire, they'll end up nuking Australia!!

We hate kangaroos anyway!

--
Chris F.
Long Island.

"A country soars its highest when it soars on the Wings of Freedom."
God Bless America.

Greg Procter wrote:

Chris, little speckled idiot, I told you a couple of years ago that this sort of
thing would happen, but no, you claimed "Pakestan is right behind us, now they
are a democracy". sheesh

Yes I did tell you they are behind us and they are. The problem is that
they can't patrol that region and Paki law say's we can't either.

America the Beautiful wrote:


Stung in an Afghan 'hornets' nest'

A routine mission for a small unit of US troops based here turned into a
fight for their lives when they came up against a group of suspected
Taleban militants along the border with Pakistan.

It did not make any headlines. It was just another incident among many
in this volatile region.

But it gives an insight into why the US-led coalition is having such
difficulty defeating the insurgency that has affected much of eastern
and southern Afghanistan for the past two years.

It was 25 June. Second Lt Louis Fernandez had led seven members of his
platoon to the top of Peak 2911.

A distinctive, bulging mountain straddling the frontier, it gets its
name from its height in metres.

QUICK GUIDE

Afghanistan

The night before, a US artillery battery had shelled the peak after
lights had been seen there.

The suspicion was that insurgents might be using it as a launch site to
fire rockets on American and Afghan troops - an almost daily occurrence
for units based along the border.

'Taking fire'

Lt Fernandez and his men from the 2/504 Parachute Infantry Regiment,
part of the 82nd Airborne Division, had been ordered to do a "battle
damage assessment", to see if anything had been hit.

An Afghan officer, Capt Mohammed Islamuddin, and two interpreters were
with them.

They found nothing except a well-travelled trail. They decided to follow
it. As they moved down the path, Capt Islamuddin says he spotted a man
in local clothes about 200-300 metres away, carrying a Kalashnikov.

Staff Sgt McKenna Miller says he saw another man near some trees raising
his Kalashnikov.

Sgt Miller raised his weapon. "I asked for permission to fire."

"I told Sgt Miller to shoot," says 22-year-old Lt Fernandez. "He pulled
the trigger and hit the guy right in the head and put him down.

"Immediately after, we started taking fire from another direction," he
says.

"That's when pretty much everything unravelled," says Sgt Miller, a
veteran of Iraq and the Balkans.

They realised they were up against "not two, but approximately 15 to 20
individuals", with a barrage of fire coming down on the US and Afghan
troops.

Where they were though, there was almost no cover. The only escape was
to move back towards the summit, the soldiers taking it in turns to
provide covering fire while others scrambled up the slope, fighting for
breath in the thin air at this altitude.

"I was starting to pray as I was running back," says Sgt Juan Carlos
Coca, the unit's radio operator. "There were rounds flying everywhere."

"We were definitely fighting for our lives," says Sgt Miller.

Pursuers' advantage

For Sgt Coca, this is his second time in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne.

In between, he was also in Iraq, in southern Baghdad.

"I expected this to be the easiest deployment of the three," he admits.
"But so far it's been the hardest. We've basically come to a hornets'
nest, here on the border with Pakistan."

The paratroopers say they were firing constantly to try to keep their
assailants back.

But "we were getting surrounded", says Sgt Coca. "And we had no comms at
all. The mountain was blocking radio signals, so they couldn't call for
back-up.

In this terrain, their pursuers had the advantage.

"They move a lot faster on these mountains than we do," says Lt Fernandez.

"They know all the routes. And they're just in better shape when it
comes to this. They're carrying no weight. We're carrying about 60 or 70
pounds (27kg-31kg) of equipment, so we're a lot slower."

Their lightly loaded attackers came closer and closer.

"They got within 20 or 30 metres," says Lt Fernandez. "You could see
those little tan hats they wear.

"We were hugging the dirt, most of the time just praying to God that He
was there for us. And He was definitely there for us, to just have one
guy take a ricochet round, with the amount of fire they were putting
down on us."

That one guy was Pte Ted Smith. A round hit him in the face, but went
straight through his cheek. "Blood was just pouring out of him," says
Sgt Miller, "but he just kept on firing."

Fortress

Pte Smith is expected to return to duty here soon at Camp Tillman -
named after Pat Tillman, the American footballer who famously turned
down millions of dollars to join the US military after 11 September but
who died in a "friendly fire" incident in Afghanistan in April last year.

When you visit this small, heavily defended redoubt, it conjures up
images of old French Foreign Legion fortresses deep in hostile North
African rebel territory.

Just across the border from the base - which sits near a tiny hamlet of
mud-brick houses - is the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan.

That has long regarded as one of the main areas where Taleban and also
al Qaeda militants have been sheltering. There have been reports of
Osama Bin Laden hiding there.

Although Pakistani forces were involved in bloody clashes with some of
these groups last year, there are concerns that many still remain and
have even bolstered their numbers.

Based on intelligence received afterwards, the US soldiers believe they
killed eight of their attackers. But talking about the fire fight to the
BBC a few days later, all of them say they were lucky not to have lost
anyone.

When they finally reached higher ground and safety "we were totally out
of breath, we could barely speak. We had almost no ammunition left,"
says Lt Fernandez, who was also inspired by 9/11 to join the forces. He
signed up on 14 September 2001.

Up here, Sgt Coca could get through on the radio, to call for air support.

A-10 aircraft arrived. But the soldiers say the pilots were not
permitted to open fire with their machine gun, or drop any ordnance
because the militants were in Pakistani territory.

"That just totally frustrates all of us," says Sgt Coca. "It's easy for
the enemy to shoot at us here in Afghanistan and then they just run a
couple of hundred metres into Pakistan and we can't do anything. They're
untouchable.

"We have that problem all the time," he says.

Sgt Miller agrees: "That's their safe haven, because they know that we
can't go over the border and they try to use that to their advantage."

The exact rules of engagement for US forces based along the border are
secret.

But it is clear from reports of different American operations that they
do have some leeway.

And at times during the battle at Peak 2911, this US unit did end up in
Pakistani territory.

But American troops are not allowed to chase attackers across the border.

Lt Fernandez says if they are "in pursuit of an enemy" they sometimes
call Pakistani government forces on the other side.

But asked if US forces here feel they get help from the Pakistanis, he
says: "I can't say that we do. No, not really."

Madrassas

Capt Islamuddin is more blunt. "Pakistan is interfering in Afghanistan.
They are sending the bad guys here. They say there are cooperating, but
they are not."

Capt Islamuddin has been based on the border with his 3rd Battalion for
the past five months and says he has seen many clashes. "Many of them
are foreigners," he says, "not Afghans."

It is a claim Afghan government officials often make about those behind
the attacks across the south and east.

But the evidence is often hard to find. Asked to give more detail, Capt
Islamuddin says he has seen the bodies of many militants close up after
battles he has been involved in.

"There are some stupid Afghans among them," he says. "But most of them
are Waziris [from Pakistan's Waziristan tribal agency], Chechens and
Arabs. They are all coming from the madrassas [religious schools] in
Pakistan."

Officially, the US military says Pakistan is cooperating closely with
its efforts to defeat the insurgency and US generals frequently praise
their counterparts across the border.

That is not how it appears to those on the frontline, to the young US
and Afghan troops actually doing the fighting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4657645.stm

--
Chris F.
Long Island.

"A country soars its highest when it soars on the Wings of Freedom."
God Bless America.



--
Chris F.
Long Island.

"A country soars its highest when it soars on the Wings of Freedom."
God Bless America.