HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- What goes around....comes around.
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----- Original Message ----- Date: Mon, 19 Nov
2001 17:32:49 -0500
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: The Brits are Now the USA's Wogs To: undisclosed-recipients:; The Brits are Now the USA's Wogs Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit [What are the Brits to do? Here they have all these thousands ready to roll, and the Northern Alliance, the USA's once and current allies, are telling them even 100 troops aren't acceptable. "Leave a couple of dozen for peacekeeping, that's enough! Meanwhile, we'll stall your silly little nation-building talks until it's too late to change the facts on the ground. Just a little trick we learned from the Israelis." Oh, dear, Mr. Blair, you have stepped in it this time. And where are the USA's fine soldiers anyway? Any sign of the cavalry on the horizon? The USA is plum out of wogs to fight their wars for them, and now, Mr. Blair, your Brits are the wogs. The irony is rich.] BBC - 18 November, 2001, 11:21 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1661000/1661358.stm UK troops 'staying in Afghanistan' Royal Marines special forces are in Afghanistan There are no plans to pull British soldiers out of Afghanistan despite Northern Alliance demands for the withdrawal of troops near Kabul, the Foreign Office has said. Jamiat-e-Islami, a Tajik faction of the Northern Alliance, had complained they were not consulted before British special forces soldiers landed at Bagram airbase. But Foreign Office Minister Ben Bradshaw said they were just one small faction, and insisted the 100 troops - believed to be from the Special Boat Service (SBS) - were welcomed by people "in the loop". "We're perfectly content that the Northern Alliance spokespeople who matter are content for them to be there," he told the BBC. "They're doing an important job securing the airport for future humanitarian and international diplomatic missions." Jamiat-e-Islami had demanded 85 of the troops pull out, leaving just 15 to carry out humanitarian tasks, according to Reuters news agency. But Mr Bradshaw said there had been no official request to leave the airbase and there were no plans to pull out UK troops. UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon earlier denied British soldiers were deployed in Afghanistan without the knowledge of the Northern Alliance. The Alliance faction said the feelings of the Afghan people and neighbouring countries had to be taken into consideration before a large military deployment could be sanctioned. Faction's 'decision' Engineer Arif, deputy chief of intelligence for the Jamiat, said: "There are 85 of them who have come without any prior co-ordination in the name of humanitarian aid led by the United Nations. "Our decision is that 15 of them can stay and the others go. "If they accept 15 people then they can stay, otherwise all of them need to go." UK war cabinet member Home Secretary David Blunkett told BBC One's Breakfast with Frost programme commentators had to remember the Allies' were dealing with "warring tribes". He criticised those who have changed their position after attacking the Allies' aims, insisting: "The bulk of those who are leading the various factions have welcomed the limited intervention made so far. "All of us want a rapid diplomatic input and solution but we are dealing with warring tribes. Talks postponed "Those who immediately, after having condemned us in the first place, then acknowledged we had made enormous progress then have to find reasons for doom and gloom." Talks between the UK Foreign Secretary and a senior member of the Northern Alliance, due to take place on Saturday, have been postponed over "logistical" difficulties. Jack Straw and the Alliance's Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, were due to discuss the make-up of a future Afghan government. The Foreign Office said the telephone conversation would now take place within the next few days. Speaking earlier on Saturday, Dr Abdullah said foreign troops were welcome in small numbers as long as their mission was primarily humanitarian, but he saw no need to extend their presence or mandate. Ordinary Afghans Many ordinary Afghans are understood to want an international peacekeeping force to guarantee security in the capital and elsewhere and prevent a return to civil war. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has vowed British troops will have a focused mission and will not be drawn into a wider conflict. The SBS will only be preparing the ground for more troops by checking for mines, and will assess the possibilities for humanitarian aid. The SAS has already been operating in Afghanistan for some time, and the SBS is the Royal Marines' equivalent service. The soldiers were drawn from "high readiness" troops kept in the region after the recent UK exercise in Oman. Bagram airport, situated about 10 miles north-east of Kabul, is considered to be of key strategic importance. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================================= ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://TOPICA.COM/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ |
