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Bomb Discourages Afghan Ethnic Fighting
Friday, July 19, 2002
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
An Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II dropped a 500-pound bomb as a show of force in the province of Nangarhar in Afghanistan, Combined Joint Task Force 180 officials said.

Two Afghan groups were engaged in fighting near a U.S. special operations camp. No U.S. service members were involved with the fighting, which seemed to be between two rival factions.

"The U.S. forces were in the area and observed the fighting," said a Defense Department spokesman. Personnel at the base called on the A-10 to drop a bomb on an unoccupied area near the groups. There were no casualties from the American bomb.

U.S. officials said the strike had the intended effect: The Afghan factions stopped fighting and left the area.

Press reports from the area said that one Afghan died and six were wounded in the fighting.

Nangarhar is east of Kabul right on the border with Pakistan.
(DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Papa stomps his foot, and the truculent children scurry for cover -- but they’ll be back, with more guile and daring, until we have to end their murderous games by actually killing the locals on purpose.



Before it should ever come to this (and that is one very available road to the future), I hope that we are either out of Afghanistan, or those truculent children decide to actually grow up.

Dan