Updates in light of Ukraine war

[Aeraaa]

Well, I'd argue that the Taliban are probably better fighters than the majority of NATO countries' troops. Nothing extraordinary with that, they basically know war since their very birth by now.

[DRG]

So much depends on Context. The Ukrainians are doing well. They were also invaded. Chances are if you changed the circumstances and it was Ukrainian troops "on manoeuvres" on the Belarus border and they woke up one morning and were ordered to advance into Belarus they might not fight with the same determination as they are now

I would not say the Taliban was better than NATO. They waited until it was only the Afgan army to stop them before they made a serious move to return but yes they have generations of experience

[Wdll]

Originally Posted by Aeraaa

Well, I'd argue that the Taliban are probably better fighters than the majority of NATO countries' troops. Nothing extraordinary with that, they basically know war since their very birth by now.

How many wars have the Taliban won against NATO countries?

Even when there were only a couple thousand NATO troops in Afghanistan they didn't dare do much against them.
They succeeded in not losing, but having constant support and reinforcements from Pakistan. All they had to do was to bully a local population which had no desire to fight and from the looks of it bribe state officials so that when NATO troops left the country they could just walk in.
I am not saying they were the worst or that they don't deserve credit for surviving at least in part due to skill, but pound for pound I wouldn't say they are as good as the majority of NATO countries' troops. Not even close.

[Wdll]

While the source for me is not exactly trustworthy, interesting video which if accurate is informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOmYi96cU1M

[Aeraaa]

No, I'm going to stand by my opinion.

Now, to clarify, NATO does have the upper edge against the Taliban. Main reason is of course that Taliban are a light infantry force and any attempt of them to slug it out in the open with NATO troops is going to end with them being utterly annihilated by superior firepower. But, they are skilled in small unit tactics, in concealment, gathering intel from the local population and use of agents, even conducting HVT assasination. There are few NATO countries that have actual combat experience in these fields.

Again, I'm talking about Taliban warrior spirit, which can be found in light infantry. As Taliban do not possess tanks, or heavy artillery, or air, they by default lose in these fields. But they did play their cards superbly, while the same cannot be said about NATO countries that participated in the Afghan war. Also, for all intents and purposes, NATO had an almost constant numerical advantage against the Taliban (counting only the fighters at least).

But anyway, this will derail the thread from Ukraine to Afghanistan.

[Wdll]

Originally Posted by Aeraaa

No, I'm going to stand by my opinion.

Now, to clarify, NATO does have the upper edge against the Taliban. Main reason is of course that Taliban are a light infantry force and any attempt of them to slug it out in the open with NATO troops is going to end with them being utterly annihilated by superior firepower. But, they are skilled in small unit tactics, in concealment, gathering intel from the local population and use of agents, even conducting HVT assasination. There are few NATO countries that have actual combat experience in these fields.

Again, I'm talking about Taliban warrior spirit, which can be found in light infantry. As Taliban do not possess tanks, or heavy artillery, or air, they by default lose in these fields. But they did play their cards superbly, while the same cannot be said about NATO countries that participated in the Afghan war. Also, for all intents and purposes, NATO had an almost constant numerical advantage against the Taliban (counting only the fighters at least).

But anyway, this will derail the thread from Ukraine to Afghanistan.

The same could be said about the Cosa Nostra. High morale, warrior spirit, assassinations, using local population to move/hide, etc. All the Taliban did was use terrorism to scare off local population to support them, use criminal activities to gain not only money but also troops and then basically do hit and run "war" whenever they thought they had a good chance. I'm sorry, but I don't see that at any level as something better than most NATO countries troops. At any level. But yes of course believe anything you want.

[DRG]

https://tass.com/defense/1061790

Trophy active protection system 'toothless’ against Russian anti-tank weapons, says source

Well...... they do seem to be the current experts on things that don't work...

[DRG]

Could be true.......or not. Lots of BS flowing

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...yed-in-ukraine

I highly doubt the last sentence though. I have seen photos or the T-72 with the latest Arena

It could also be the case that despite — or even because of — the ferocity of the fighting on the ground, Russia is keen to test out different capabilities against modern battlefield threats. In such a scenario, it’s conceivable that the T-80UM2 was deployed to Ukraine specifically to assess how its protection features, and perhaps other systems, fared against some of the advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles, fielded now by Ukraine. As far as is known, the T-80UM2 was the only tank deployed by Russia in the fighting so far to feature an active protection system.

[Wdll]

Originally Posted by DRG

Could be true.......or not

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...yed-in-ukraine

via GIPHY

[DRG]

Yeah I had to leave before I edited it fully