Marines push 'The Breacher' against Taliban lines.
From an approving AP:
"The Breachers, metal monsters that look like a tank with a cannon, carry a 15-foot (4.5-meter) -wide plow supported by metallic skis that glide on the dirt, digging a safety lane through the numerous minefields laid by the Taliban.
If there are too many mines, the Breachers can fire rockets carrying high-grade C-4 explosive up to 150 yards (meters) forward, detonating the hidden bombs at a safe distance so that troops and vehicles can pass through safely.
The detonations — over 1,700 pounds (770 kilograms) of Mine Clearing Line Charges — send a sheet fire into the air and shock waves rippling through the desert in all directions.
Reporters watched the "Breacher" in action Wednesday as Marines edged closer to Marjah, a southern Taliban stronghold that NATO commanders plan to attack in the coming days in the largest joint NATO-Afghan operation of the Afghan war. Troops are expected to face a massive threat from mines and roadside bombs as they push into Marjah, 380 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Kabul.
"This may be the largest IED threat and largest minefield that NATO has ever faced," says Brig Gen. Larry Nicholson, the commander of all Marines in southern Afghanistan."
Well, well, a positive report on the military beat down about to be delivered against these taliban rats. Good thing Obama doesn't have an "R" after his name or there would be copious 24/7 criticism about wasting men & material in this Afghan 'quagmire'.
Give 'em h3ll, guys!, but don't expect these knuckle draggin' taliban rats to come out to battle and fight like men: Taliban plans to melt away into civilian population.
Taliban fighters awaiting the Nato offensive in Helmand are planning to melt into the civilian population in preparation for a hit-and-run campaign against British and American troops.
Nothing spells bravery like hiding behind women, kids and mosques.
