Operation Moshtarak: Pictures And Facts
OPERATION Moshtarak is go. Moshtarak, meaning ‘together’ in the Dari language. Lieutenant Colonel Matt Bazeley, commander of the British Engineer Regiment, tells the soldiers: “We are going into the heart of darkness… If things go wrong, no sad moments, no pauses, we regather, recock and go again.” Joseph Conrad’s words are memorable for one other phrase: “The horror! The horror!”
To the Sun, war is rousing and thrilling:
Our Boys took off from Camp Bastion in a fleet of helicopters as Operation Moshtarak got underway at 3am local time (10pm UK time). The skies roared with noise as they made the 18-minute flight into the Nad-e-Ali district.
It’s glory before the bloody fight. It is a glimpse of the jingoism that replaces fact in the media where tell has replaced show. And the facts? Well, let’s see that the Army is up against:
A FORCE of more than 15,000 Allied troops stormed into Taliban strongholds early today as commanders heralded “the beginning of the end for the insurgency”… A first wave of 1,200 British troops – out of a total of 4,000 in the operation – were involved as the mission started – Daily Record
Some of about 15,000 troops from the United States, United Kingdom, Afghanistan and Canada are attacking Taliban targets in and around Marjah, a city of 80,000 to 100,000 residents, where the Taliban has set up a shadow government, coalition authorities said. – CNN
On Friday, helicopters dropped leaflets on the town and surrounding ara, which has an estimated overall population of 125,000, warning people to stay indoors and not to let Taliban fighters into their homes. – Muslim News
You want facts from the war zone? You want the horror? You need to be there…
Posted: 13th, February 2010 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
