Tajikistan Won't Allow Afghan Attacks

By LIDA ISAMOVA
.c The Associated Press

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (Sept. 16) - Tajikistan will not allow Western nations to launch attacks on neighboring Afghanistan from its territory, its leadership said Sunday.

``Reports in some media on the use of the Tajik territory by a third country to inflict strikes on military camps of the Taliban and international terrorists in Afghanistan are groundless,'' chief foreign ministry spokesman Igor Sattarov told reporters.

U.S. officials have identified Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in Tuesday's terrorist strikes in New York and Washington. The Saudi exile operates in Afghanistan, whose hard-line Muslim Taliban rulers have given him sanctuary.

Last week, Tajik Prime Minister Akil Akilov indicated his government might consider a U.S. request to provide air corridors for strikes on Afghanistan, but only with approval from Russia and the international community.

But Russia, which has thousands of troops in Tajikistan and wields considerable influence in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, made it clear last week that it would not approve a Western-led campaign from what Moscow considers its own backyard.

``I don't see any basis for even the hypothetical possibility of NATO military operations on the territory of Central Asian nations that belong to the Commonwealth of Independent States,'' Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Friday.

Tajikistan, along with the former Soviet republics of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, is located on Afghanistan's northern border. It is one of the few countries from which a military offensive could be launched.

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were major staging areas for Soviet troops and aircraft during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and Russian troops still patrol Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, the opposition alliance is made up of ethnic Tajiks, Uzbeks and other minorities in Afghanistan and controls about 10 percent of the country in the northeast, along the former Soviet border.

Tajikistan is struggling to recover from a five-year civil war between mostly Islamic opposition forces and the hard-line secular government, and depends heavily on Russia for military and political support.

Since Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also rely on Russia for major economic support, it is unlikely they would agree to military operations from their territories without Moscow's approval.

AP-NY-09-16-01 1201EDT

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Before this ends, we probably will be "Going it Alone"

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Is it just me, or is this starting to sound like the opening story of RED DAWN!?!!?

"United States Stands Alone..."

_FS

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We could work out of saudi or jordan, where we already have major control......

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Personally, I dont think we should have requested that of Pakistan either. We simply should take over Iran and Iraq and then launch our own invasions from their smoldering remains.

-- GB

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How about this:

U.S. Ground Forces land in Egypt, and Yemen. They push up into Iraq and meet up with U.S. troops staged from Isreal. The combined troops push through Iraq to Lebanon and Syria, then turn east to Chechnya and Iran. The troops the push east through Iran. How we pass through depends on how Iran supports us.

At the same time U.S. troops staged from Pakistan could push into Afghanistan from the South and East, while troops from Iran push from the West. This would leave only the North Open to escape. In North Afghanistan are Anti_Taliban Rebels. Even if they make it past the rebels they will end up in Russia, where I can only say the better pray the Russians don't get them. We all know what Hitler did when faced with the choice of capture by Russians or Suicide.

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hypothetical:

If Mexico bombed the Kremlin (LOL,) would we be happy hosting MIGs and the Russian T90s and  Army in CA, AZ and TX.

HELL NO.

So, while it would have been nice to have their bases to use, as long as they don't get in our way, which is something they have with every conflict we have been in since WWII, that is good.

Besides, it would take months to move troops through Eastern Russia and our M1s wont' fit on their railroads anyhow.  We need a Port.  Hello, Pakistan, are you there?

Zaz

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General GoatBoy.  

Where do I sign up?


Zaz

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I guess no one read my original response.....

Tajikistan is NO LONGER PART OF RUSSIA.

They are their own state now, and Russia, while having some influence there, do not control the internal politics of that country.

So nuking Russia wouldn't do a god damn thing except make things a shit load worse.

This isn't the Cold War, things have changed since 1986.