Well, after having issued warnings in February the Taliban are now making good on their threats. The terrorist group wanted cell phone networks shut down at night so that the Canadians, Brits and Americans could have less luck hunting them down.
Well, as was expected, they were ignored. Now they’re running around parts of Afghanistan blowing up cell towers.
From the LA Times:
Afghans tend to be stoic in the face of poverty, hardship and seemingly endless warfare. But mess with their cellphones, and the response is one of undiluted outrage.
For the last two months, Taliban fighters have been blowing up telecommunications towers, with the aim of preventing NATO-led forces from hunting them down via cellphone signals. It could hardly have been a worse public-relations move for the insurgency.
Fuming Afghans call the tactic nonsensical.
“I’m so, so furious about this,” sputtered businessman Rahim Agha. “Why do they have to do this to us? Why can’t they just turn off their phones?”
To Afghans, the country’s rapidly expanding cellphone network is a symbol of pride and hoped-for prosperity. Cellphones are a lifeline to Afghanistan’s vast rural hinterlands, an engine of commerce, and a vital link with millions of Afghan refugees around the world.
This will continue to turn the populace against the deposed regime and further to worsen their situation.
Sharp like beach ball.
[tags]Taliban, Cell Phone Towers, Insurgents[/tags]