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More from Dahab.
So where did I leave off. I think I had just met a Brit who'd served in the marines in the Iraq and Afghanistan; the mess-o-patamia that we've created…you know spreading democracy and saving the world from Al-queda and the Taliban.
I stayed away from the political talk (for once) and just kind of prodded at his experience in the war(s). He spoke pretty candidly of it all, which was a bit surprising, giving that he was in a Muslim country talk openly about killing other Muslims. What I have found is that Muslims in general are pretty excepting (and supportive) of other Muslim, weather they be from Indonesia, Semolina, or Palestine. A Muslim is a Muslim in their eyes. But then again there is that whole Sunni Shia thing. We'll just put that into the Mess-o-Potamia category.
Anyways. So this guy, who resembles about 85% of the people that sold pot at my college, is telling me about an ambush that hit his squad in Afghanistan. They were completely caught off guard, and had been surrounded by the Taliban. .50 Machine guns firing in each direction, while tracer bullets whizzed past their heads. While all this was going on across a river (cover a distance of 300 meters) another group of Taliban flanked them on the right, at about 50 meters. They didn't see them coming, but luckily, according the Evergreen-like, British Marine, the Taliban are horrible shooters - But it seems that if you have a gun that holds 30 bullets you only have an accuracy of 3.3% - He said that bullets hit within inches of his feet, and QUICKLY ran as fast as he could to the vehicle with a machine gun mounted on the rough. He said that they exchanged fire for about 10 minutes, as old USSR RPGs and AK rounds flew from one side, and a whole shit load of modern tools of destruction from the other.
After the same guy (Taliban) popped up for the 4th time, the Marine (think his name is Shane) got a rocket launcher and started to drill the trenches they'd dug into. Mind you, he was very impressed with their trenches and approach they took in the ambush. This was all a bit too surreal, even for me, some one who enjoys reading about the most horrific things, and some of the biggest atrocities mankind has given us.
To actually hear this first hand account (which felt way to similar to a Bruckheimer film) was mind boggling. I was sitting down, having a bear, a "chat" if you will, with someone who'd killed people. I think this was a first, with the exception of people that may have served in Vietnam - but even so, I'd never heard a first had account like this. It was incredibly shocking, but all too real. Even for someone as voyeuristic as me, it was a bit much. I mean the whole thing ended when they said "fuck it, call in US air support," and you know what that means. TONS of bombs (litterly) hit the ground.
Genuinely speechless, I picked up my lower jaw from the floor and replied with the only word that came to mind. Wow.
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Kelly Dymon
non-member comment
ditto
wow.