well now I have only between 10 & 12 months until Aussie comes home. Not long if you say it quickly <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

my black cat decided to come sit in my lap!!!!

[color:"blue"] Military fears big Afghan losses
1. January 2006, 20:41
By Michael Willisee, War Correspondent (UK)

BRITISH troops set to deploy to southern Afghanistan this spring. along with Australian troops already deployed there, could sustain losses on a scale not seen since the Korean war, a combined briefing to both nations Prime Ministers by field military intelligence officers have warned.

They say insurgent forces in the south are preparing for a large offensive by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, backed by sophisticated weapons and training from Iran.

The warnings follow an increase in heavy fighting in southern Afghanistan over the past year. Several thousand soldiers, including about 100 US soldiers, have been killed.

The insurgents regard the withdrawal of 2,000 US troops as a key victory and are expected to press home their advantage against the British-led Nato force.

An advance party of British troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade will fly to Afghanistan this week to begin preparing for the deployment.

A new terror group linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s Al-Qaeda in Iraq has emerged in southern Afghanistan and is imitating his methods. Messages from the group, Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, have appeared on the same jihadist internet sites as those of Zarqawi’s terror group.

The Taliban has regrouped, adapting its tactics to a classic insurgency campaign. There has also been a surge in suicide bombings and in roadside bombs similar to those introduced to Iraq last year.

US intelligence officers in southern Afghanistan and at the Coalition Joint Task Force headquarters in Bagram, north of Kabul, are blaming Iran for the increase in the use of sophisticated technology.

The British troops’ anti-narcotics operations could also provoke attacks from local warlords. The Dutch will decide on February 2 whether to withdraw their contingent because of warnings from military intelligence about the risks. They are expected to do so.

The plan is for just over 3,000 of the 6,000-strong Nato force to come from the UK, with Canada and the Dutch supplying the remaining troops. A British battle group commanded by 16 Air Assault Brigade and led by 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment will take over Helmand province from the Americans.

Briefings to officers from 3 Para by Australian SAS highlighted the possibility of casualties on a par with those during the 1951 -52 Korean conflict, when casualty rates rose up to 30% fatalities. They advised to expect fatality rates of approximately 10% which was the rate of British deaths in the 1982 Falklands war within the first month of the northern spring.

It is reported that Australian troops fought a number of intense battles throughout Christmas and the New Year with a number of teams narrowly avoiding being over run.

UK and Australian defense officials have refused to confirm or deny the estimations.
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