French troops were killed after Italy hushed up ‘bribes’ to Taleban [Archive]

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Krusader

10-15-2009, 15:44

From this article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6875376.ece

Don't know what to make of it myself, but my eyebrows was raised from reading some of the comments from the Italians.
Also interesting to read the anti-Italian comments made on a Norwegian news article regarding this issue, which is here, mostly on Italians in WW2 and Berlusconi:
http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/10/15/nyheter/utenriks/taliban/afghanistan/nato/8587846/

I still wonder why the French went underarmed on patrol in a potential warzone, even if it had been quiet for months. Shouldn't precautions be taken?
Still, the Italian intelligence should have mentioned the bribes, as the French had a completely different threat assessment level because they did not know local insurgents were bribed to not attack.

Brenus

10-16-2009, 07:57

They were not unarmed, had artilley support and even some US troops as fire support.
They were just over confident...
The ambush was a model of it.
The Taliban were too closed for air, artillery or mortar support, too far for infantery support. The French vehicules (20 mm cannon) were not able to engage the ennemies, nor the US and Afghan troops.
The French were pinned down...

About French in this country, 2 soldiers died last weeks: 1 by thunder strike, 2 drowned during a flash storm.
Bad accident but 2 of them were belonguing to the 13 Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes. Which is a Special Forces Unit. And the French Special Forces are not supposed to be in Afghanistan as offciolly the French are just there to train and support the National Army...:laugh4:

Husar

10-16-2009, 12:03

To me this says more about the Italians than the French...

I mean they bribe the local warlords, then present it to the world as the safest region, get some medals, move out and let the french take over their "safe" region without telling them that it's full of insurgents who are just quiet because the italians are kissing their feet... :thumbsdown:

Fragony

10-16-2009, 13:47

Centurion1

10-16-2009, 14:29

Cowardice

Louis VI the Fat

10-16-2009, 14:37

From this article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6875376.ece

Don't know what to make of it myself, but my eyebrows was raised from reading some of the comments from the Italians.I don't know what to make of it either. Anyway, let's not forget that this is a single newspaper quoting their won sources. Neither the truth nor the gravity of the allegations have been established.

Basically, the allegation is that the Italian secret srvices paid of the Taliban. This led to a false security risk assesment once the French troops took over from the Italians. There are a whole lot of ifs and buts about this. Plus:

France's military has denied a British newspaper report that the Italian army failed to inform its French ally that it was paying off the Taliban in Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of 10 French soldiers in an ambush on August 2008.

AFP - The French military Thursday dismissed as "baseless" a British newspaper report that French troops died in Afghanistan because Italy had failed to inform them of a Taliban payoff deal.

The Times of London said 10 French soldiers were killed in Sarobi district east of Kabul in August 2008 because they were not told that Italy had been paying the Taliban not to carry out attacks and failed to properly assess risks. Admiral Christophe Prazuck, spokesman for the armed forces general staff, said he had "no information enabling us to confirm the reports published in the British press."

"These are rumours, and it is not the first time we have heard them," Prazuck said, dismissing the report as "baseless." General Eric Tremblay, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, told AFP that he was "not aware" of Italy having paid off Taliban militants. "If it does go on, it's the Afghan government (that does it) rather than international forces," he said.

But a senior officer with the Afghan army insisted Italian forces had bribed Taliban fighters to avoid being targeted. "We knew that Italian forces were paying the opposition (fighters) in Sarobi so they would not be attacked. We have information on similar agreements made in the western Herat province by Italian soldiers under NATO command there," the army officer said on condition of anonymity.

"A lot of NATO countries with troops operating in the rural areas of Afghanistan pay the insurgents so not to be attacked," the officer added.

Also interesting to read the anti-Italian comments made on a Norwegian news article regarding this issue, which is here, mostly on Italians in WW2 and Berlusconi:
http://www.dagbladet.no/2009/10/15/nyheter/utenriks/taliban/afghanistan/nato/8587846/
I blame the internets. The internets is the domain of young boys and of uneducated men. At least, they write the most and shout the loudest.
Political analysis and some knowledge of the world about you is substituted on the internets by a crude grasps of a few events in WWII, which are then extrapolated into a full explanatory scheme that's applicable to any subject. The application of which then strangely passes for relevant and intelligent commentary.

I mean, should the Italians discuss Obama's Nobel Prize within a scheme of 'cowardly Norwegian Quislings'?

Fragony

10-16-2009, 14:44

I don't know what to make of it either. Anyway, let's not forget that this is a single newspaper quoting their won sources. Neither the truth nor the gravity of the allegations have been established.

But they are a little bit too eager to deny it, it's was then when it left the realm of mere suspicion. I would keep this in mind when dealing with the Italians again, they kinda need their victory's been a while.