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Taliban Prison Break in Afghanistan

By Jeralyn, Section Afghanistan 2009
Posted on Mon Apr 25, 2011 at 08:46:00 AM EST
Tags: Afghanistan (all tags)
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The Taliban spent the past 5 months building a 1,060 foot underground tunnel that led directly into Sarposa Prison in Khandahar and broke out 575 inmates, including about 100 Taliban commanders.

Their tunnel operation was not discovered. They were able to bypass checkpoints and main roads. When asked how the Taliban were able to build the tunnel and effect the breakout, Gov. Tooryalai Wesa said only, "It's under investigation."

This is one of the prisons at which the U.S. has been providing training and funding to strengthen the Afghan secuirty guards.

The facility has undergone security upgrades and tightened procedures following a brazen 2008 Taliban attack that freed 900 prisoners. Afghan government officials and their NATO backers have regularly said that the prison has vastly improved security since that attack.

All the prisoners had left through the tunnel, taking 4.5 hours to do so, before anyone knew they were gone.

Guess they are still not ready for prime-time. How much more will it cost us to stay longer and re-train them?

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    Taliban Prison Break in Afghanistan | 21 comments (21 topical)

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    Not a Taliban fan... (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 25, 2011 at 10:22:38 AM EST
    by any means, but I'm a big fan of a good prison break...and thats one helluva prison break.

    Long past time to get the hell out of Dodge.

    Latter day Stalag 17. (none / 0) (#9)
    by oculus on Mon Apr 25, 2011 at 10:45:42 AM EST


    Parent
    My husband said they need (none / 0) (#10)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 at 11:24:00 AM EST
    to make a movie about it called The Great Escape II.

    Parent
    Somehow it reminds me more (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by shoephone on Mon Apr 25, 2011 at 11:26:33 AM EST
    of Hogan's Heroes. This morning, everybody over there looks like Sargeant Shultz. "I know nothing!!!"

    Parent
    I never said they were nice... (5.00 / 3) (#20)
    by kdog on Mon Apr 25, 2011 at 02:57:47 PM EST
    just no real threat to the US from Afghanistan.

    International terrorist orgs pose a threat to the west, a threat best addressed in the West, not in a basically lawless country of rocks where all Empires go to die.

    Of course they're gonna claim we're getting some return from all that foreign occupying, and funding, and evisceration of individual rights...the question is why should we believe it?  The DEA claims returns too...they're not trustworthy.

    This will be the talk of the day (none / 0) (#1)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 at 08:33:57 AM EST
    in my neck of the woods.  Because the military is very punitive by the end of the day it will have been everyone's fault at least once :)  It will even be my fault and your fault at some point.