seal survived because afghan villagers hid him

[nrs421]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/07/11/afghan.seal/index.html



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Afghan villagers sheltered a U.S. Navy SEAL wounded in a battle last month with the Taliban until they could get word to American forces to rescue him, a military official said Monday.

The SEAL was part of a four-man reconnaissance team that went missing June 28 after calling for help during a firefight in the mountains near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The other three members of the team died in the fighting, and a MH-47 helicopter crashed as it brought reinforcements, killing all 16 people on board.

The military said it believes insurgents shot down the chopper.

Military officials said a rocket exploded near the surviving SEAL, knocking him off his feet and down a mountainside in steep terrain. He then managed to stay out of sight of the insurgents, officials said.

The commando suffered multiple leg wounds but was able to walk about two miles (three or four kilometers) through the mountains to get away, according to a U.S. military official, who insisted on anonymity.

An Afghan villager found the SEAL and hid him in his village, the official said.

According to military accounts, Taliban fighters came to the village and demanded the American be turned over, but villagers refused.

The SEAL wrote a note verifying his identity and location, and a villager carried it to U.S. forces, the official said. The note indicated to U.S. troops that they wouldn't be entering into a trap. The commando was rescued July 3.

The military has not revealed his identity.

The bodies of two of the other SEALS were recovered July 4, and the fourth man's body was found Sunday with the help of local Afghans, the military said.
Taliban abduction denied

An initial assessment indicated the three SEALs were killed in a gunbattle, a senior U.S. defense official said Sunday, adding there was "no way" the fourth SEAL had been abducted.

The Taliban had claimed to have captured the SEAL.

"The final member was located during a combat search-and-rescue operation July 10 in Kunar province," the military said in a statement Monday. "The location and disposition of the service member's remains indicate he died while fighting off enemy terrorists on or about June 28."

The Taliban is the fundamentalist Islamic regime that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 when a U.S.-led coalition knocked it from power. It continues to conduct guerrilla operations in the country, particularly along the border with Pakistan.

Suspected Taliban gunmen beheaded 10 Afghan soldiers in a desert ambush near the Pakistan border, a provincial governor said Sunday, The Associated Press reported.


i'm curious as to what the people who supported that we wipe out all muslims have to say? do you think this guy would have survived if we killed a couple of million people to make a point? most of the troops have acted honourably and that is why this guy survived....and that is how we win their hearts and minds.....by showing we are better by not stooping to the level of the terrorists

[YOGIx213]

i'm curious as to what the people who supported that we wipe out all muslims have to say? do you think this guy would have survived if we killed a couple of million people to make a point? most of the troops have acted honourably and that is why this guy survived....and that is how we win their hearts and minds.....by showing we are better by not stooping to the level of the terrorists

I agree, not all Muslims support terrorism, it's extremists that are the problem. Extremists of any belief are dangerous.

[UDawg]

How about your side first answer the questions I have posted here time and again. Then maybe we ca move forward from there.

[YOGIx213]

My side? Me or nrs421? I don't really have a "side", I consider myself more along the "middle." Not too far to the left, nor too far to the right. Or if you were referring to nrs421, I don't know what his "side" is, just responding to the post.

[UDawg]

My side? Me or nrs421? I don't really have a "side", I consider myself more along the "middle." Not too far to the left, nor too far to the right. Or if you were referring to nrs421, I don't know what his "side" is, just responding to the post.
AHAHAHA look at our post times. I was replying before your post was there. You must have just posted seconds before me. :D I was refering to the initial post. ;) not yours.

[Rakeesh]

What I would like to know is, why do most people on the left insist upon the idea that our actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq are against what the common people in that region want?

Clearly this is not the case.

And btw nrs421, do you believe that all americans are christian?

[netviper13]

And btw nrs421, do you believe that all americans are christian?

I think the answer to that is nearly identical for both America and the Middle East. No, not all people in America are Christian, nor are all people in the Middle East Muslim. However, if you were to take a gander at the religion of any given person in each region, the odds are extremely good that an American would be Christian (of various denominations), and a person from the Middle East would be Muslim.

[YOGIx213]

AHAHAHA look at our post times. I was replying before your post was there. You must have just posted seconds before me. :D I was refering to the initial post. ;) not yours.

Hahaha, I should have looked at the post time...the quirks of internet message boards! :)

[Rakeesh]

I think the answer to that is nearly identical for both America and the Middle East. No, not all people in America are Christian, nor are all people in the Middle East Muslim. However, if you were to take a gander at the religion of any given person in each region, the odds are extremely good that an American would be Christian (of various denominations), and a person from the Middle East would be Muslim.

Whats to say that this particular village wasn't of Sikh, Hindu, or Buddhist religions?

(which BTW, now that these religions are once again legal there, their official per capita could actually increase)

[YOGIx213]

Whats to say that this particular village wasn't of Sikh, Hindu, or Buddhist religions?

..or Satanists? Or Scientologists? Or...ahhh, I'm just acting like a buffoon right now because it's boring as hell at work...

[nrs421]

i am not a liberal ...i am on most issues conservative but on certain issues liberal.....kind of like arnold schwarzenegger......

[de><ta]

It may be partly due to the way the US has behaved but not all Muslims are violent and there is some intrinsic good in people no matter what thier education or religious upbringings are. That also could be reason why the US marine survived. Its good news all said and done, hope the marine gets better.

[Rakeesh]

Well, technically he is a sailor, not a marine :D (actually not even technically, he is a sailor, although his MOS would make his job description similar to that of a marine recon)

But anyways, I don't recall anybody ever saying that all muslims are evil, but rather that all middle eastern terrorists are muslim. Either that or islam the religion is evil (which if you actually read the quran, you'd agree, but that isn't to say that christianity or judiasm isn't evil either.)

[evilchris]

I agree, not all Muslims support terrorism, it's extremists that are the problem. Extremists of any belief are dangerous.

Terrorists are not extremists. They are devout followers of mohammed and are good muslims.

[Rakeesh]

Terrorists are not extremists. They are devout followers of mohammed and are good muslims.

Heh, that sounds like what an iranian friend of mine would say. He says he used to be muslim until he was in his teens, and now he says that the religion is despicable and the intent of the religion is only for evil. He gets offended when I call him an arab though (so I do that all the time,) and he insists that he is pursian :D

[UDawg]

Well, technically he is a sailor, not a marine :D (actually not even technically, he is a sailor, although his MOS would make his job description similar to that of a marine recon)

But anyways, I don't recall anybody ever saying that all muslims are evil, but rather that all middle eastern terrorists are muslim. Either that or islam the religion is evil (which if you actually read the quran, you'd agree, but that isn't to say that christianity or judiasm isn't evil either.)
They are frogmen. Demolition experts who evolved into the Navy's elite spec ops group. They are the advance team for the Marines and army in most cases. Recon blows chucks compaired to SEALs. That is said with love of course. SEALs and Force Recon have a big rivalry but SEALs are better. ;)

[Rakeesh]

They are frogmen. Demolition experts who evolved into the Navy's elite spec ops group. They are the advance team for the Marines and army in most cases. Recon blows chucks compaired to SEALs. That is said with love of course. SEALs and Force Recon have a big rivalry but SEALs are better. ;)

The Army's armored dragoons own the USMC recon. That was my MOS BTW :D

There are no Cavalry Troopers in the Marine Corps, Hoo-ah!
There are no Cavalry Troopers in the Marine Corps, Hoo-ah!
Because they're all in the sand,
Making love to their hand!
There are no Cavalry Troopers in the Marine Corps, Hoo-ah!
Sing Glorious, Victorious
one keg of beer for the four of us,
praise be to god that there are no more of us,
cause one of us could drink it all alone
damn near pass the beer to rear of the Cavalry, Hey!

Sorry, I just get so much nostalgia when I hear that cadence in my head...

[joltcola]

What I would like to know is, why do most people on the left insist upon the idea that our actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq are against what the common people in that region want?


I'd like to say that brings up a good point. I'm going to see if I can't touch on that..


The problem with how Americans ( or at least me ) think about the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq. The fact that the news, the reports, and the reasons get so skewed for whatever reason, that its difficult to get an idea of what is truly going on there. I also look back at past wars (Vietnam, Desert Storm) and see how things were displayed to the home front compared to the reality. And it doesn't instill much confidence that Americans are getting the information that I think we deserve. Things are so dramatized on the news, and the government tries to keep things up-beat as to not cause people to lose heart, that its difficult to know what is really going on there. Not that I think everyone is lying, and everyone has some hidden agenda, but that the whole of the situation becomes parsed and befuddled (sp). And that leads to a drop in confidence within the situation. I guess my views are the result of being lied to from on so many levels, its hard to trust anyone. And this isn't just focused on the war, or with government, but people in general (please google: "people suck" for more information).

Now, as for the left, I have no idea. I don't like to be grouped with other people. People f*ing smell.

But the idea that some people believe that we are acting in a fashion that isn't actually helping the population of Afghanistan or Iraq comes from the history of military involvement for the betterment of a foreign country. And this isn't isolated to the United States. There are tons of examples were a country has gone into a location for the improvement of life of the population and leaving the place worse off than it is. That, and just seeing the locals continuing to live in fear, and in pain. And wondering, are we really doing anything to help these people or are we just acerbating the situation? Is there going to be an end to their suffering, or are we just stirring the pot?

Or at least, that’s my view on it atm. :confused:

My opinion, I'd like our troops to have all the support they need to get the job done. Piss, get off the pot, and move on! Then I'd like our foreign assistance organizations to come in and support the locals to rebuild, improve, and hopefully become a nation that is apart of our technologically driven world.

-- jolt

[joltcola]

i am not a liberal ...i am on most issues conservative but on certain issues liberal.....kind of like arnold schwarzenegger......

Take your pick :D
Wikipedia -- Political Ideologies -- (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_ideology)


I was reading through those the other day. I love wikipedia!



-- jolt

[Sazar]

I was considering a new thread, but for the sake of sanity I will just add to this thread

How the Shepherd saved the Seal

After taking the SEAL to Sabari-Minah, Gulab called a village council and explained that the American needed protection from Taliban hunters. It was the SEAL's good fortune that the villagers were Pashtun, who are honor-bound never to refuse sanctuary to a stranger. By then, said Gulab, "the American understood that we were trying to save him, and he relaxed a bit."

The Taliban was not so agreeable. That night the fighters sent a message to the villagers: "We want this infidel." A firm reply from the village chief, Shinah, shot back. "The American is our guest, and we won't give him up as long as there's a man or a woman left alive in our village." As a precaution, the villagers moved the injured commando out of Gulab's house and hid him in a stable overnight, until it was safe for Gulab to make the six-hour trek down to the U.S. base at Asadabad and report that the SEAL--by then the subject of an intense search--was alive. Sometime later, Gulab went back to his village and then returned to Asadabad with the commando, this time reuniting the wounded and weary SEAL with his jubilant comrades.



http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1081394,00.html

The bravery of the villagers and the composure of the SEAL are both inspiring.

The full article in the July 18th issue of Time is quite a good read of all the things that could have gone wrong and did and the inherent good in some people. The Taliban may be regrouping but acts like that of the villagers is a very positive sign.

[Son Goku]

The bravery of the villagers and the composure of the SEAL are both inspiring.

Indeed... After all the news about beheadings, the actions of Zarkawi and co, it's nice to hear some more positive news for a change.

The full article in the July 18th issue of Time is quite a good read of all the things that could have gone wrong and did and the inherent good in some people. The Taliban may be regrouping but acts like that of the villagers is a very positive sign.

I gather the link is an abreviated version. I'll see if I can get down to the school library to take a look at the issue. The article looks to be worth a read through :)