Taliban attack inside Camp Bastion

[davidbfpo]

Taken from the article linked by SWJ Blog for the return to the USA of Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible.

The assailants, assembled into three teams of five fighters, cut a hole in the fence on the eastern end of the airfield at approximately 10:15 p.m. Wearing suicide vests and armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, they moved toward hangars where AV-8B Harrier jets were parked and began to open fire.

Link:http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...y.html?hpid=z2

[davidbfpo]

More details are appearing, no doubt some are inspired as I doubt if any media in Camp Bastion will upset their handlers.

In particular I refer to Christina Lamb's in The Sunday Times (UK, behind a pay-wall), but reproduced in The Australian and fully accessible via Google:http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1226479699623

She reports that:

A local Taliban commander who gave his name as Abdul Bari told The Sunday Times that planning began a month ago when a senior Haqqani network officer asked for 20 volunteers to become suicide bombers. They were trained in Pakistan, he said.

Prior to the attack the base's remote position was often cited as part of the security advantage, so when she reveals:

A cement-mixing plant, lorry parks and a hotel for local workers were built just a few hundred yards from the camp's eastern fence, where the attack took place.

This passage does not sound right - from my armchair, ostensibly made by a suicide bomber in a high concrete wall

A two-metre hole had been blasted high in the razor-wire-topped wall surrounding what was thought to be one of the most impregnable military camps on earth.

[davidbfpo]

The BBC clearly has gone into over-drive, with numerous clips / reports on this attack, including a short portion of the pre-attack Taliban training and to my bemusement:

Note: For security reasons, the main image and video tour of Camp Bastion are graphical representations of the base and not accurate plans

A report:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19704120 and the gateway to more:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19635544

Note a moon-less night helped.

[davidbfpo]

Ah!

The U.S. military has launched a formal investigation into whether a two-star Marine Corps general and his subordinates bear responsibility for lax security at a large coalition base in southwestern Afghanistan where a Taliban ambush killed two Marines and destroyed a half-dozen U.S. fighter jets.

The report refers to guard towers being unmanned by Tongans and fewer USMC perimeter patrols.

Link:http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...a47_story.html

[jcustis]

David,

Our Commandant is taking heat for a recent round of officer reliefs where he stated he'd lost confidence in the commanders for a variety of reasons. These come in the wake of a tour he conducted last year around the Corps, seeking to impart a sense of moral and ethical accountability back into the Corps, and hold individuals and commanders accountable.

There is a media dustup that neither the 2-star responsible for Bastion/Leatherneck, nor subordinates, have received public scrutiny for the calamity that ensued from the raid.

We erely needed to look back on the days of David Stirling and 'L' Detachment, to know it was not only possible, but inevitable.

[davidbfpo]

Well the USMC Commandant has acted now, with the WaPo headline 'Two Marine generals fired for security lapses in Afghanistan' and their removal, and likely retirement:

The commandant, Gen. James F. Amos, said the two generals did not deploy enough troops to guard the base and take other measures to prepare for a ground attack by the Taliban. The two, Maj. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus, the top Marine commander in southern Afghanistan at the time, and Maj. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant, the senior Marine aviation officer in the area, “failed to exercise the level of judgment expected of commanders of their rank,” Amos said.

Link:http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...57f_story.html

Now what will happen here, in the UK? As WaPo says:

The British are responsible for guarding Bastion

[SWJ Blog]

Marine Generals Ousted After Bastion Attack

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