From 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.
YOUR IMPERIALIST BLOODLUST SHALL BE RETURNED UPON YOU TENFOLD, MR BUSH! ON THE BATTLEGROUND OF THE MIGHTY TALIBAN YOU WILL MEET YOUR WATERLOO! NO INTERLOPER ARMY CAN SURVIVE THE FROZEN AFGHAN WINTERS! THE KHYBER PASS SHALL SLAY YOUR MILITARY’S PAPER TIGERS AND FROM THEIR SPILLED BLOOD WILL SPRING FORTH A THOUSAND YEARS OF FUTURE MUJAHIDEEN!
Uh, hyup.
Ummm….”insisted on anonymity”? That sounds a bit sinister. Whatever happened to, “…who spoke on the condition of anonymity”, or, “an anonymous source tells CNN”?
Spamword: School, as in, “Those J-Schools are sure turning out a lot of dumbasses these days, huh?”
And the Taliban fighters were okay with this?
SW: You mean the Taliban didn’t use “force”?
Maybe the villagers had more force? That’s the only answer I can think of.
Or maybe the Taliban representatives were met at the town gates by a little girl not wearing a burqa. Discombobulated them so much they forgot what they came to demand.
Major John could tell us for sure, but I’d bet it’s rare for a village in Afghanistan not to be pretty well armed, even if they weren’t a few years ago. If I lived under a brutal theocracy and it was suddenly overthrown then picking up some small arms for myself and my town would be very high on my to-do list.
That soldier is going to get a helluva book deal and should make a mint on the talk show rounds. Wonder if he promised the Afghanis a cut of his proceeds.
All kidding aside, this is really a cool and somewhat amazing story.
Wow. What a great and moving story.
Clearly the villagers convinced the Taliban of their cultural sensitivity and respect for multilateral decision-making, the Kyoto Accord, and the ICC.
Guess them little punk beyotches were lying when they said they found the fourth SEAL member and had him beheaded.
SEAL members are not known for their mercy.
Glad to see the Afghanis pulling for our boys, it’s always good to hear about.
Awesome. But, really – how can I believe it? They all hate us over there, right? I’m so confused.
I am not surprised by this. Well pleased, but not surprised. Almost all the Afghans I met know why they are finally able to look forward to something other than Hobbes’ “state of nature” [hint, it usually has something to the effect of “US Army” sewed over a shirt pocket].
Sean is right – the Talib may have said “hand him over”, but it is the right of every Afghan male to tote a Kalishnikov around, not to mention knives, shotguns and whatnot else…Heinlein was right – “An armed society is a polite society”. I imagine the Talib said “OK, thanks for your time”, and left.
Just like in The Magnificent Seven, the Talib fighters will return to exact their revenge. One can only hope that the outcome will be the same as in the movie.
I wonder who will do the Horst Bucholz part, and light the Talib leader’s hash-and-tobacco spliff.
your yelling just gave me a migraine…