Russia Sends 10,000 AK-47s To Afghanistan As Government Mulls "Inviting" Moscow To Help Fight "Terrorists"
Late last month in “Russia's Mid-East Takeover Continues As Afghanistan Requests Military Assistance From Moscow,” we noted, with some amusement, that Kabul was set to request a weapons delivery from Russia to aid in the fight against the Taliban. “Afghanistan, battered by worsening security, is reaching out to an old ally and patron—Russia—just as the Kremlin is seeking to reassert its position as a heavyweight on the world stage,” WSJ reported, on the way to detailing a request from President Ashraf Ghani who “asked Moscow for artillery, small arms and Mi-35 helicopter gunships for his country’s struggling military.”
The request came just a little over a week after President Obama canceled plans to bring the majority of American troops still stationed in Afghanistan home. Under Obama’s previous plan, Washington would withdraw most of the 9,800 troops operating in the country by the end of next year, leaving a force of just 1,000. Now, all 9,800 troops will remain for “most” of next year and 5,500 troops will remain in 2017. The official reason for the about face is that a resurgent Taliban now controls more territory in Afghanistan than at any other time since 2001.
As a reminder, the Taliban took Kabul in 1996 and ruled until the regime was toppled by the US in the wake of 9/11.
(Afghan communist president Najibullah and his brother Ahmadzai were hung by the Taliban the day the city fell)
The late September Taliban offensive in Kunduz (which would eventually lead to the tragic US bombing of an MSF hospital) resulted in a dramatic prison break. Here's a video from Vice News who interviewed a man who escaped from his cell during the chaos. This should give you an idea about what the situation is like on the ground:
Kunduz was the first Afghan city to fall to the Taliban in 14 years, although it was retaken in fairly short order by government troops operating under cover of US airstrikes. Be that as it may, the situation is still remarkably precarious. As The New York Times wrote earlier this week, "Taliban fighters still control large stretches of territory, including positions as close as two miles from the city gates. Illustrating the danger, officials said that five to nine rockets landed in the city on Thursday, with one falling about 450 yards from the auditorium where Mr. Ghani was holding a tense meeting with residents."
And as is the case with the Houthis in Yemen and with ISIS after last year's debacle at Mosul in Iraq, the Taliban are armed with US-supplied weapons. Here's The Times again: "Tribal elders and local officials repeatedly warned Mr. Ghani during the meeting that the insurgents could storm the city again, using the government vehicles and ammunition they looted during their brief stay. A recent government fact-finding mission found that the Taliban took about 37 Humvees and 1,000 weapons with them when they withdrew."
That, in brief, is how things look on the ground. So, like Damascus and Baghdad, Kabul has turned to Moscow for help confronting a deteriorating security situation. From the time Russia began flying combat missions from Latakia, other countries in the region battling Sunni extremists have sought to enlist The Kremlin's help in the face of what many view as increasingly ineffectual assistance from the US.
On Saturday, we got the first confirmation that Moscow is indeed set to assist Kabul in the fight against the Taliban (or against ISIS, or against whoever the government needs to say they're fighting in order to get weapons) as Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed reports that Russia is set to deliver some 10,000 AK-47 Kalashnikovs to the Afghan government over the next 30 days.
“Luckily, I would say Russia’s eagerness towards Afghanistan was higher than before. 10,000 Kalashnikovs have been approved which would be handed over to the interior ministry after arriving in Kabul in next 20 days,” Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, speaker of the Upper House of the Parliament told Radio Free Europe.
But that's not all. As Bloomberg goes on to note, Afghanistan lawmakers are also considering inviting Russia to help fight terrorists on Afghan soil.
According to Khaama Press, "Kabul is in contact with Moscow for receiving more weapons and gunship helicopters."
And while Khaama goes on to say that Russian lawmakers have generally rejected the notion that Moscow would get directly involved in operations against terrorist targets in Afghanistan, there's a distinct possibility that could change. As Ramzan Kadyrov, the pro-Kremlin leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, put it, "Kabul needs the support of Russia, just like Syria."
Yes, "just like Syria", and just like Iraq, and just like any other country where Sunni extremists armed and financed by the West and its regional allies serve as a constant source of instability and a perpetual threat to the establishment and maintenance of strong central governments.
Time will tell if Russia decides to take a more active role in Afghanistan but in the meantime it's worth noting that targets in the country are likely well within range of Moscow's Caspian Sea fleet which has launched a number of cruise missile strikes against ISIS positions in Syria. Additionally, bear in mind that Iran (one of Russia's closest allies on the world stage and The Kremlin's staunchest supporter in the Mid-East) despises the Taliban and would likely be more than happy to assist in an operation to rout the group in Afghanistan just as they assissted the US in removing Mullah Omar from power. In 1998, Iran threatened to destroy the Taliban in the space of "24 hours" in retailiation for the death of eight Iranian diplomats in Mazar-e-Sharif. Still, the situation is complicated immeasurably by the presence of ISIS. Indeed, Tehran is now thought to be providing the Taliban with money and weapons in an effort to head off the spread of Islamic State in Afghanistan and counter US influence. As WSJ noted over the summer, "Tehran is already battling Islamic State, also known as Daesh, in Syria and Iraq, and it is wary of a new front line emerging close to its eastern border" “Iran seeks to counter Daesh with the Taliban,” said an Afghan security official. But again - and we hinted at this in the piece referenced at the outset - one shouldn't be fooled into believing that Iran is looking to forge a long-term relationship with a group that Tehran has every reason to hate. "It’s unclear, however, how far Iran will go to promote the Taliban," WSJ continues, before quoting an unnamed foreign official as saying that Iran “wouldn’t want the Taliban to become too strong. They just want to make sure that they have some levers in their hands, because if the Taliban would win, God forbid, then they would lose all their leverage.”
So who would Russia be fighting in Afghanistan and who will be on the receiving end of the 10,000 AKs and helicopter gunships Moscow is set to send to Kabul? If those weapons can help the Afghan military roll back ISIS in the country, will Tehran cut off its support for the Taliban once the group is no longer useful? Who knows, but what should be clear from everything said above is that Afghanistan (like Syria and like Iraq) is a country plagued by a complex war and that war is being facilitated by, i) clandestine and sometimes unlikely alliances and ii) the presence of the US military.
Whatever the case, the stage does indeed seem to be set for another conflict wherein everyone involved claims to be fighting ISIS, but in reality, all participants have their own vision for Afghanistan's future.
Finally, because we like to throw in a little comic relief where relevant, we close with Bakr al-Baghdadi's description of the now deceased Mullah Omar, the legendary, one-eyed Taliban commander who, like Baghdadi, once declared himself caliph:
"He's a fool and an illiterate warlord."
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but no bullets
This twisted mess reminds me of the old Abbot & Costello routine, Who's on first?
test
Sorry CIA... You just lost half your heroin profits!
Ned? Ned Ryerson? "Ned the Head"? Is that you?
I wonder if when the USSA is in revolt against its overlords, will someone send battle weapons?
First ISIS oil and now heroin...CIA is going to setup a large FF event...and quick.
http://beforeitsnews.com/global-unrest/2015/11/cowardly-isiss-terrorist-...
Why the US has lost the Middle East to Putin >> http://bit.ly/1PSXaoK
What about that booming heroin business? The one run by the See Eye Aye.
Poppys?
You mean poppy fields our valient troops guard and haul that didn't exist before we invaded?
Thats nathing.
Now go turn on the teevee and see what kind of false flag terror attack is going on in Colorado.
Colorado is the home office of false flag terror attacks. The head cops there must all get together and plan them over craft beers. What fun!
And be afraid. Especially of conspiracy theorists, and muslims.
Islam = continual violence
...and the WMD hunting black gold protecting world jesus police who are the only ones permitted by jesus to possess WMDs.....they never commit any violence at all(remote control toys that shoot missiles don't count).
bankrupt former super powers = continual violence
a country that has as one of its largest exports the most sophisticated killing machinery in history = continual violence
Jesus Police? That's downright retarded. Do the Hebrews who run America care anything about Jesus? Is that why the hebrew media makes fun of Christians so much? Or maybe you meant HAY SUESS? Was that it, boy?
you can recruit soldiers and generals to kill and die with Islam, or you can recruit them with Jesus, stars and stripes, free college, and the pledge of alliegance(spouted by children mind you).
merely effective indoctrinating/recruiting tools....not the underlying power intere$ts
...hey, heads up, using the term "retarded" in your cute little rant is a solid indicator of Down Syndrome according to www.webmd.com/ronargentisontheshortbus you big fat booger face
#noclue
Nice horns you have but your head is dead.
good one
Folks are missing the point. WHY is US there in the first place?? Not sure DC is really part of the US. When we elect an honest person they lose their minds in DC.
Not all. Sunni's and the Gulf State Saudi, UAE and Qatari's are evil scum thugs.
Hezbollah aka Shia Muslims have been helping to protect Christians in the Middle East and in Syria.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/they-accept-us-as-we-are-christians-jo...
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/22129
Don't confuse our resident bigots with facts Freddie.
They prefer their totally blissful ignorance, and skulls full of mush.
I don't think you know the history of Lebanon. It was Israel that was protecting Christians from the Muslims. When Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon occupation, Syrian forces moved in and drove Christian Phalange out-Lebanon was a Christian state.
Go to Iran with a Christian bible, you're going to be hanging from a crane. Iranian Revolutionary Guards murdered anyone who was not a Muslim beginning in 1979.
I knew a Kurdish Iranian Jewish student who was a member of 'Jews for Jesus' organization, he told me that if he was still in Iran, he would be dead. he was always worried about his family in Iran.
It was Iran that started radicalization of Muslims. Most Sunni Arab states were secular.
So we have trolls from turkry now on zh ? Iran was a democratic country until cia did a coup in 1953 to install a radical shah and thats how mullahs took over Iran. Btw Iran is far better than your scum kebab towelheads.
Do a quick search before posting please. Check out Synagogues in Iran, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_synagogues_in_Iran
it's a bit costly for Russia to be too involved. Taliban should be brought to the table for negotiations, it's the only way.
John " I have a Plan " Kerry should get right on that.
Why didn't Hillary do that when she was Sec State?
She was too busy supplying weapons to the terrorists in Syria via the pervert overseeing operations in Libya. The same one who was later dragged through the dirt for his efforts.
Are the Saudis still going to build those 20,000 mosque [training centers] in Germany? Maybe the Afghanees can chip in since a large number of refugees marching into Deutschland are reported to be Afghans, not Syrians.
Just wondering.
The Russian version of the Domino Theory. Blowback is a bitch.
Not only that, Washington is spending inordinate amounts of money on offensive weaponry that's useless against guerilla warfare. Russia can easily defend on the cheap. I would argue that they've been planning this for decades. All they have to do is keep bleeding the USSA until it collapses.
Wonder where they learned that trick? Full circle is a bitch too.
Heck this is great news!
We cunningly get the Russians invited in to do our dirty work in Afganistan, which is amazing to me considering the Soviets invaded in 79 and fucked shit up. That and I figured that place is.probably carpeted with weapons already, where are they gonna stack theseAKs?
Ah well, now we can wind our shit down and keep that money in our pockets.
Happy Days
Learn your history ersehole !
Pretty accurate history ......
really, think I'm going to buy any line of AmeriKKKan bullsheite, Fuck you ! It's the same playbook.
They were invited by the then prime minister of Afghanistan, Hafizullah Amin, for the purpose of helping their common-ideology friends who were witnessing a civil war at that time. - first prize goes to the person who figures out how this civil war got started, you only need a 1/4 brain for this.
- See more at: http://www.pravdareport.com/history/19-07-2012/121687-war_afghanistan-0/...
But while you terrorist USSA sit in your fortifications in Afghanistan, the people always prepare to take you out, the people that you call terrorists !
10,000 AKs, now that is my idea of Christmas!
They should send in a squadron of crop dusters and lay waste to the poppy fields. That will piss off the CIA.
/ Use Agent Orange, and fly US and Israeli insignias. That should do wonders for PR and blowback. /sarc
One of my first thoughts was that they should hit the fields and spoil the harvest.
Well shit, opium prices are 'disinflationary', another effect of the CIA's incremental investments in new fields. SO, it's time to destroy some crops and boost the price, kind of like controlling diamond supply keeps the Jews Kosher.
Imagine terrorist USSA that cannot supply all the junkies with their fix, now that would be a cracker of a show. How many millions would chimp out ?
Something tells me the Russians will do better in Afghan than the likes of this clown
https://www.facebook.com/478672978826869/videos/853391098021720/?pnref=s...
That soldier is a wimp. Anyone who conducts training like that is worthless. He can't even communicate without swearing. I got used to those kind when I was in the military. Just wannabes.
Russia must be running low on poppy juice. Did the Afghans ask Russia to build some LNG petrol stations for the multitude of LNG vehicles that the US gov seems to think are in the country.
We will deliver 10,000 of our finest swords to our friends in Kabul and with them, Afghanistan will have peace for the next 400 years!
Peter the Great, czar of Russia, in 1723
and the usa came and delivered his best friend afganistan democracy and freedom and taliban
and afganistan will not have peace until the last person there will die
afganistan was once a buddhist country
afganistan is france germany and england in 200 years
edit:
20 years
No chance. We'll all of died of global warming by then. LOL
The dirka dirkas and the CIA make for QUITE the team. They can fuck up a country almost as fast as a giant pack of free shitters looking for the REALLY good 'Black Friday Matters' deals.
"afganistan was once a buddhist country"
Ha! There's no way to prove that now that the Taliban has destroyed the Buddha's of Bamiyan!
Infidel!!! ;-)
hahaha; the new afghan government installed by the Americans makes the same request to Russia that Hafizullah AMin made in 1979... which started the CIA/ISIS/Taliban caper to fight Soviet army support for incumbents !
History goes back 40 years to right the wrong made by US vs Soviet tug of war "at any cost" to the locals!
Some about turn from Pax Americana's appointed overlords.
What happened in Iraq now repeats in Afghan
Those damn ingrates in Iraq will probably will probably turn to the evil Russian too. Dropping bombs on them for years and years and that's the thanks we get?
Good morning to the resident ZH junk monkeys BTW.
I don't know if I should up or downvote you. I assume you where sarcastic.