The Lessons of History, as
not-learned by the "warriors":
Afghans have a tradition of long-range ambushes against foreign forces. During the 1832-1842 British-Afghan war, the British found that their Brown Bess muskets could not reach insurgent sharpshooters firing higher-caliber Jezzail flintlocks.
Soviet soldiers in the 1980s found that their AK-47 rifles could not match the World War II-era bolt-action Lee-Enfield and Mauser rifles used by mujahedeen rebels.
"These are important considerations in Afghanistan, where NATO forces are frequently attacked by insurgents using ... sharpshooter's rifles, which are all chambered for a full-powered cartridge which dates back to the 1890s," said Paul Cornish, curator of firearms at the Imperial War Museum in London.
The heavier bullets enable Taliban militants to shoot at U.S. and NATO soldiers from positions well beyond the effective range of the coalition's rifles.
The Just Another Blog™ Editorial Board is considering shifting its position from its current "Get Our Boys & Girls Out Now!" to full backing of the indigenous resistance elements & calling for death to the imperialist aggressors.
So, are you for restoring Afghanistan to Taliban control? Even if it means forced marriages, stoning of "heretics", honor killings, oppression of women, and a return to the early middle-ages? (Similar to some places near my part-time flat in London)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, for the record, the British are the best shots in the world... officially: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7113916.ece