Taleban insurgents involved in the ambush that killed ten French soldiers in 2008 show off some of the weapons and uniforms that were stripped from mutilated bodies.French Troops Were Killed After Italy Hushed Up ‘Bribes’ To Taleban -- Times Online
When ten French soldiers were killed last year in an ambush by Afghan insurgents in what had seemed a relatively peaceful area, the French public were horrified.
Their revulsion increased with the news that many of the dead soldiers had been mutilated — and with the publication of photographs showing the militants triumphantly sporting their victims’ flak jackets and weapons. The French had been in charge of the Sarobi area, east of Kabul, for only a month, taking over from the Italians; it was one of the biggest single losses of life by Nato forces in Afghanistan.
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My Comment: This "payment for peace deal" only became known through intercepts of Italian telephone calls by U.S. intelligence officers. If this is not giving support and comfort to the enemy .... I then do not now what it is.
On another note, it appears that the U.S. does not trust some of it's allies. Listening into their telephone conversations tells me that the U.S. had some suspicions and doubts on the Italian commitment to the Afghan campaign. We now know that these concerns were justified.
Update: Afghanistan: Italy Denies Paying off Taliban -- Time Magazine