geocachecat Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 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! Quote Link to comment
geocachecat Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 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.... Quote Link to comment
+JKMonkey Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 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? Quote Link to comment
+AutisticMajor Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 I'm surprised it took so long for them to catch on! Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 I'm surprised it took so long for them to catch on! I'm surprised the Cache Owner never mentioned it. Quote Link to comment
+releasethedogs Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
Mattyematt Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 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 Quote Link to comment
+dakboy Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 I'm sure as that country calms down I hope you're the patient type. Quote Link to comment
+Zant264 Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
+The_Incredibles_ Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
+Off Grid Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 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 Quote Link to comment
+Manville Possum Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
+Mn-treker Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment
+jeffrae Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I wonder what the difficulty on that would be? Quote Link to comment
+geodarts Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment
+The_Incredibles_ Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I wonder what the difficulty on that would be? 5/5 Special equipment/knowledge required Quote Link to comment
+jhellwig Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
+SSO JOAT Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment
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