Learning to Fight a High-Tech War

摘要

Last November 24, at a fortress in the north of afghanistan, a group of Taliban prisoners rose in revolt against their captors. They had pretended to surrender but had not been searched, and when brought to the fort in trucks, they proved to be well armed. Overpowering their guards, they seized additional weapons and freed several hundred other Taliban prisoners who were being held in cells. They took control of much of the fort, forcing troops of the pro-American Northern Alliance to retreat to a corner. Alliance forces fought back with rifle fire and two tanks but succeeded merely in holding their ground until the following afternoon, when 15 British and American commandos arrived in minivans and Land Rovers. Two U.S. fighter aircraft also appeared and began circling the area. An Alliance commander told his visitors that a white building in the Taliban area needed to be taken out. An American target spotter used a laser range finder to determine its precise location. A radio operator then talked to the pilots in the air.