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The Hidden Dangers of Helmand Province, Part I

 

Helmand Province, Afghanistan (NEW YORK TIMES) - Since last summer, the Marines have expanded their presence along the Helmand River, and as more troops flow into the country the momentum is pushing them farther into territory long out of Afghan government control.

They now operate a web of outposts and patrol bases that dot the farmland and the steppe of Helmand Province, and they patrol regularly around and between them. Their sustained presence in many districts, along with the decrease in vegetation that followed fall harvests and the onset of cold Afghan weather, has left Taliban fighters with less ability to hide in a gunfight. Winter has brought a decrease in small-arms attacks.

This is especially true at night, when the Marines’ thermal sights and night-vision equipment, along with their better marksmanship skills, give them a distinct advantage over Afghans they face. The Marines also have weapons on vehicle turrets and in bunkers at outposts — .50-caliber machine guns and MK-19 automatic grenade launchers — that provide lethal stand-off against lightly equipped men, the more so on January’s relatively bald terrain.

full article atwar.blogs.nytimes.com

Hillary Clinton: All nations must play a part in Afghanistan mission

This week, President Barack Obama reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to our core goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and prevent their return to either country. The US is sending an additional 30,000 personnel to Afghanistan, significantly increasing our civilian aid to the Afghan people, and broadening our partnership with Pakistan.

Today in Brussels, I will discuss the way forward with our allies. And I will thank those nations that have pledged additional troops. This is a crucial test for Nato. After September 11, the alliance invoked Article 5 of its charter for the first time, affirming that the terrorist attacks planned in Afghanistan and perpetrated in the US were attacks on every Nato member. The members of the alliance have paid a steep price in lives, but we must remain firm in our resolve.

For countries in the region, the stakes are particularly high. Civilians of every faith have been murdered, but Muslims have paid the highest toll. Troops from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other Muslim-majority nations are fighting extremism in Afghanistan and their participation is vital to our mission.

Along with the extra American troops, more international forces will help to deny al-Qaeda a safe haven; reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government; and strengthen the capacity of the Afghans to take responsibility for their own security.

full article at www.telegraph.co.uk

Air strike kills 30 Taliban in Afghanistan

 

KHOST, Afghanistan – About 30 Taliban insurgents were killed in a NATO-led air strike in eastern Afghanistan after they attacked an Afghan police post, a police official and the alliance said on Sunday.

Afghan border police commander Sayed Nabi Mullahkhil said a police checkpoint in eastern Khost province, which shares a border with Pakistan, was attacked by militants overnight.

full story at news.yahoo.com

Buildup called helpful in 2 Afghan provinces

PUL-I-ALAM, Afghanistan — On what is more akin to a sunny winter's stroll, U.S. troops proudly tread on a newly asphalted road, past a refurbished mosque and a crowded market overflowing with produce. Children dance around the soldiers' boots and bearded men stop them for a casual chat.

This is Logar province: scene of a major U.S. military buildup, fuel for the argument by senior commanders that more troops and aid infusions could reverse Taliban gains in other areas of Afghanistan and ultimately lead to victory.

But the endgame has yet to be played out in Logar, a critical region south of Kabul.

Less than 10 miles from this provincial capital and a few days later, another patrol is greeted only by the cackle of crows and what soldiers call "the stinky eye" from some villagers when they enter Uzbakkhel in combat formation. Two roadside bombs welcomed them on a former visit, a district official had been assassinated the previous night and three days earlier the Taliban nearby killed a 24-year-old man whose uncle worked for the government in Kabul.

full story at marinecorpstimes.com

Prosecuting American 'War Crimes' in Afghanistan

 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "great regret" in August that the U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This has fueled speculation that the Obama administration may reverse another Bush policy and sign up for what could lead to the trial of Americans for war crimes in The Hague.

The ICC's chief prosecutor, though, has no intention of waiting for Washington to submit to the court's authority. Luis Moreno Ocampo says he already has jurisdiction—at least with respect to Afghanistan.

Because Kabul in 2003 ratified the Rome Statute—the ICC's founding treaty—all soldiers on Afghan territory, even those from nontreaty countries, fall under the ICC's oversight, Mr. Ocampo told me. And the chief prosecutor says he is already conducting a "preliminary examination" into whether NATO troops, including American soldiers, fighting the Taliban may have to be put in the dock

full article at online.wsj.com

Marines in Afghanistan hear a plea: Don't leave too soon

 
It was at the end of a recent after-lunch meeting, with the two sides sitting cross-legged on a tattered rug, exchanging pleasantries and enjoying sweet tea and stone-baked bread.

Haji Mohammed Khan, district administrator for Nawa, a government bureaucrat with three decades' experience in war and shaky peace, had something he wanted to ask the Marines, some of whom will soon return to bases in the United States.

"Please," Khan said in a low voice, his sad eyes looking directly at his guests, "don't let us be here alone. You used your young people, your vehicles, your helicopters to help us. Please don't turn around and leave unfinished your business here."m

full story at www.latimes.com

Taliban leader says U.S. faces defeat in Afghanistan

 

As President Obama prepares to unveil his long-deliberated war strategy, the Taliban's supreme commander declared Wednesday that U.S.-led forces would find only defeat, dishonor and "a bed of thorns" in Afghanistan.

The statement came as the White House announced that Obama will deliver a televised speech about the war Tuesday from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He is expected to announce higher troop levels for Afghanistan and detail a plan for ultimately withdrawing U.S. forces.

"We're in the ninth year of our efforts in Afghanistan," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in announcing the speech, which will air at 5 p.m. "The president will want to walk through his decision-making process and give people a sense of the importance of our efforts, but reiterate for them that the president does not see this as an open-ended engagement.

"Our time there will be limited," Gibbs said, "and I think that's important for people to understand."The Taliban warning, contained in a statement by Mullah Mohammed Omar, the movement's reclusive leader, was issued on the eve of one of the year's most important Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. It marks the end of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that is made by millions of observant Muslims.

In his missive, which was punctuated by the flowery phrases and high-flown rhetoric typically employed in such messages, Omar urged Afghans to disavow the "puppet" government of President Hamid Karzai, who was sworn in last week to a second term after an election clouded by massive vote-rigging. "Break off all relations with the stooge administration in Kabul!" Omar urged, saying that the Karzai government was a partner to "the evil process of colonization and occupation.

full story at www.latimes.com

US buildup in critical Afghanistan provinces scores successes, but Taliban not knocked out

 
PUL-I-ALAM, Afghanistan (AP) — On what is more akin to a sunny winter's stroll, U.S. troops proudly tread on a newly asphalted road, past a refurbished mosque and a crowded market overflowing with produce. Children dance around the soldiers' boots and bearded men stop them for a casual chat.

This is Logar province: scene of a major U.S. military buildup, fuel for the argument by senior commanders that more troops and aid infusions could reverse Taliban gains in other areas of Afghanistan and ultimately lead to victory.

But the endgame has yet to be played out in Logar, a critical region south of Kabul.

full story at www.chicagotribune.com

Will talk of Afghan 'off-ramps' prompt Taliban to hang tough?

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will unveil his long-awaited Afghanistan strategy in a prime-time address from West Point, N.Y. , on Dec. 1 , the White House said Wednesday, but the administration's advance remarks have sparked concern that talk of an eventual U.S. withdrawal will encourage Islamist insurgents to persevere.

full story at news.yahoo.com

Marine awarded Silver Star for gallantry in Afghanistan ambush

On paper, the mission for Camp Pendleton's newest recipient of the Silver Star seemed straightforward enough: Travel overnight to an isolated mountainside cave where a suspected Taliban leader was hiding, kill or detain him, and destroy a reportedly large weapons cache.

In practice, the July 2008 mission in western Afghanistan was a deadly, grueling, four-hour firefight as a large number of Taliban fighters rained automatic weapons fire onto a group of U.S. Marine and Army Special Forces troops.

full story at nctimes.com