The Taliban have scored a major propaganda victory by focusing attacks on Georgian troops based in Helmand province. Yesterday, Georgia’s defense minister said that two bases manned by his country’s troops have been closed and a third will be shut down in several days. From Khaama Press:
Georgian defense minister, Irakli Alasania on Wednesday said the decision was taken following a series of attacks by militants on Georgian military bases.
While speaking in a show “Rustavi-2″, Alasania said we appealed to NATO command on the mesaures that should have been taken to ensure the safety of our troops after the first attack.
Alasania further added, the process of fortification and engineering reinforcement has been already started after the recommendations of the Georgian side had been accepted.
Without elaborating further Alasania confirmed that two bases were closed however he did not name the exact locations due to unknown reasons.
In the meantime he said that the military base which was recently attacked should also be closed in three or four days..
The Taliban killed seven Georgian soldiers in a suicide attack on a base in the Now Zad district on June 6. And in a bombing on May 13 at a base in the Musa Qala district, three more Georgian soldiers were killed.
Georgian soldiers have filled in for US Marines as they are withdrawing from the province.
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4 Comments
Just for kicks the US should initiate another “Surge” with a few thousand personnel to forestall the
Georgian’s decision to ‘stand down’ & ‘send a message’ to the Taliban. Its not like President Obama is “running” for a 3rd term
Its too bad that they are doing that; it’ll cost them dearly in the long run.
Really?!? They appealed to NATO on the measures that should have been taken to ensure their safety….ummm….how about setting up a functioning defense? You can look the part but thats not enough…. No wonder the russians handily picked them apart during their little fiasco several years ago. This will surely embolden any taliban facing off against Georgian troops in the future….
I am surprised the Georgians agreed to take over the bases in the first place. They must be reaching hard for that NATO membership ring.
This is a small scale encapsulation of how the entire war effort has gone.
Will the ISAF still be in country when the south and east collapse or will we all have made it out and can feign the look of surprise, washing our hands of the entire matter?