IMPORTANT - Caches in Afghanistan

[geocachecat]

Hi all,

 

I was speaking with one of my friends who's in the military who knows I'm a Geocacher. Geocaching was mentioned in one of the Security briefings he attended today. Apparently some very enthusiastic cachers have started placing caches in Afghanistan outside the wire. The Taliban have (apparently) started to find these and have at least once placed an IED inside one - an unpleasant surprise for the next cacher!

 

I'm sure as that country calms down caching will become very popular in the future, however for the time being it's worth bearing in mind that not all hidden things are your friends in this country...

 

I'm not necessarily saying don't place them, I'm just saying to be aware when looking for them!

[geocachecat]

After a quick browse of Afghanistan for caches, it's far too obvious where the bases are

 

As Geocaching provides the lat/long, I'm so glad the Taliban doesn't have more sophisticated weaponry

 

Let's hope the colloquial language of "Wop Wop Wop" foxes the bad guys so that they can't tell what they would be targeting....

[+JKMonkey]

Just sickening, the idea of possibly killing an innocent person by putting an IED inside of a game piece that is suppose to promote outdoor activity, guess it's not that surprising coming from the Taliban, but still, where does it stop with these monsters?

[+AutisticMajor]

I'm surprised it took so long for them to catch on!

[AZcachemeister]

Just sickening, the idea of possibly killing an innocent person by putting an IED inside of a game piece that is suppose to promote outdoor activity, guess it's not that surprising coming from the Taliban, but still, where does it stop with these monsters?

 

When you are a terrorist, there are no innocent persons.

 

That being said, if someone invaded 'your' country, wouldn't you try to hurt encourage them to leave in any way possible?

 

It's a very blurry line between terrorist and freedom fighter, and we need look no further than the revolutionary war in the USA for some vivid examples.

[+kunarion]

I'm surprised it took so long for them to catch on!

I'm surprised the Cache Owner never mentioned it.

[+releasethedogs]

Just sickening, the idea of possibly killing an innocent person by putting an IED inside of a game piece that is suppose to promote outdoor activity, guess it's not that surprising coming from the Taliban, but still, where does it stop with these monsters?

 

When you are a terrorist, there are no innocent persons.

 

That being said, if someone invaded 'your' country, wouldn't you try to hurt encourage them to leave in any way possible?

 

It's a very blurry line between terrorist and freedom fighter, and we need look no further than the revolutionary war in the USA for some vivid examples.

Thank you for this rational and enlightened post.

[Mattyematt]

Just sickening, the idea of possibly killing an innocent person by putting an IED inside of a game piece that is suppose to promote outdoor activity, guess it's not that surprising coming from the Taliban, but still, where does it stop with these monsters?

 

When you are a terrorist, there are no innocent persons.

 

That being said, if someone invaded 'your' country, wouldn't you try to hurt encourage them to leave in any way possible?

 

It's a very blurry line between terrorist and freedom fighter, and we need look no further than the revolutionary war in the USA for some vivid examples.

Thank you for this rational and enlightened post.

 

+1

[+dakboy]

I'm sure as that country calms down

I hope you're the patient type.

[+Zant264]

It's a very blurry line between terrorist and freedom fighter,

 

I would disagree with that statement. A true freedom fighter will fight against a government that it believes is in the wrong, or an occupying force. It will target other combatants and important installations (Bridges, dams, power generation stations, etc). Terrorists will deliberately target innocent civilians and non-combatants, often blowing up their own people in a market for instance. There is a difference. Though I can see how sometimes the line could get blurred.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I'm surprised it took so long for them to catch on!

 

The real question is do they log their finds online?

 

TFTC. Took nothing, left bomb.

[+Off Grid]

I'm surprised it took so long for them to catch on!

 

The real question is do they log their finds online?

 

TFTC. Took nothing, left bomb.

+1 haha that'd be an interesting log

[+Manville Possum]

Just sickening, the idea of possibly killing an innocent person by putting an IED inside of a game piece that is suppose to promote outdoor activity, guess it's not that surprising coming from the Taliban, but still, where does it stop with these monsters?

Who geocaches in Afghanistan? Who do jihadist's target with IED's? They will never stop with their madness.

[4wheelin_fool]

Just sickening, the idea of possibly killing an innocent person by putting an IED inside of a game piece that is suppose to promote outdoor activity, guess it's not that surprising coming from the Taliban, but still, where does it stop with these monsters?

 

Yes! The Taliban should get away from our game pieces that promote outdoor activity and focus on the regular targets instead.

 

 

Unless of course, the caches are listed on the other sites.

[+Mn-treker]

I have had family that served over there. I have been told that when the soldier is on mission and is not allowed to comunicate with loved ones. They find a geocache or just simply log one. This lets those at home know where they are. It looks like the Taliban has caught on to this and is using it against our soldiers.

To them this is an unlawfull activity. A violation of Islam so they booby trap them for two reasons.

warning to all soldiers stop finding geocache in muslim countries. You are being targeted through them.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Mn-treker

[+jeffrae]

I wonder what the difficulty on that would be?

[+geodarts]

my impression of the Taliban is they find almost anything violates Islam. In a way, not wanting foreign occupiers to play a game with hidden containers makes sense, but I am surprised they would take notice of it. Perhaps they mistook a cache for a pipe bomb and decided that it was as good of a use for it as any. In any event, the entire situation in Afghanistan is almost impossible . . . . I am not sure that Karzai would want foreigners playing games in his country either.

Edited May 25, 2013 by geodarts

[+The_Incredibles_]

I wonder what the difficulty on that would be?

 

5/5

 

Special equipment/knowledge required

[+jhellwig]

Of all the places to look for camouflaged containers just off the beaten path, I don't think the place where people are blowing other people up in the name of god is a good destination. It just has bad idea written all over it. I don't need a souvenir and a simile that bad.

[+SSO JOAT]

On a brighter note... at least there is someplace in the world where the police actually SHOULD send the bomb squad to "remove" any caches that are discovered.

 

Of course, I'm actually very surprised that the military has allowed any geocaching activity, on or off of a base. A complete violation of commsec rules on multiple levels. Heck, we can't even get a US base in America to allow geocaching on their public accessible lands in our area. They flat-out banned geocaching a few years ago. Big black hole on the cache map.