Major military operation under way in Afghanistan

[S-2]

Marine General Takes Fight To Taliban-NPR

"Excerpts From Nicholson's Address To Troops

NPR.org, July 1, 2009 · Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, addressed his troops in Afghanistan before the operation launched early Thursday against Taliban-occupied areas.

Following are excerpts from his remarks at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province.

On the mission in the Helmand River valley:

Our job is to get in there and get it back [from the Taliban] ... We don't want to give the enemy one second to think about what he's going to do. Because we're going to be pushing so goddamn hard on the enemy. Our job is to go in there and make contact with the enemy — find the enemy, make contact with the enemy and then we'll hold on. This is an enemy that's used to having small-scale attacks and having the coalition pull back. There is no pullback. We will stay on him, and we will ride him until he's either dead or surrenders.

On the threat of roadside bombs:

Now, I'm concerned about the IEDs [roadside bombs] and I know you are, too. There's a hell of a lot of IEDs out there. As we get in there, we're going to get a better feel for who these people are who are putting them out. We're going to work the networks. And we're going to kill the guys that have a chance to go out there and lay them. But they are out there, and you need to know that.

On putting the Taliban on the defensive:

All too often, it is us who have to think about where we're going to go, where we're going to attack, what we're going to do. In this case, we're going to be so thick in his AO [area of operation] that he's going to have three choices: Stay and fight, which we hope he does; try to blend into the population and just pretend he's a local, in which case the Afghan army and police can sure as hell help identify that along with local leaders; and the third thing is run. And if he tries to run, we've got people waiting for him.

On the Marines' training and preparation:

You probably know the name of every little terrain feature in that AO. And that's good. Because you're going to need to. You're going to need to very quickly get into his turf and get comfortable and make him the guy on the run. Make him the guy who's going to have these decisions as to what he's going to do.

On defeating the enemy:

We'll kill and capture a hell of a lot of enemy over these next couple of weeks, I'm confident of that. And I hope the enemy does try to go chest-to-chest with you. It would be a hell of a big mistake, and I don't think his last mistake. And I suspect we'll see some of that.

On supporting the Afghan people:

We need to make sure we understand that the reason we're here is not necessarily the enemy. The reason we're here is the people. What won the war in al-Anbar province [Iraq] and what changed the war in al-Anbar was not that the enemy eventually got tired of fighting. It's that the people chose a side, and they chose us. We offer the one thing the enemy can never offer, and that's a future; that's hope. The people are looking to you.

On the need to minimize civilian casualties:

We'll surround that house and we'll wait. And here's the reason: If you drop that house and there's one woman, one child, one family in that house — you may have killed 20 Taliban, but by killing that woman or that child in that house, you have lost that community. You are dead to them. You are done. And when I talked to the governor [about this scenario], I said, 'Yeah, but governor, we will have killed 20 Taliban.' And he goes, 'Yeah, but you will have also killed the local family, and the people will always remember that.' The Taliban didn't kill that local family. You did. And as far as they're concerned, you killed locals and you're done. They will do anything they can at that point to help the Taliban and help the enemy against you.

On the media:

I tell you, personally I want the media out there because we've got a hell of a story to tell. I'll tell you, I've never in more than 30 years regretted embedding the media with the Marines that we've been associated with.

On the conditions in enemy territory, in the desert:

Bottom line, fellas, it's hot. It's gonna get hotter. Your packs are heavy. They're gonna get heavier. Our resupply to you is going to be tough. We're focused on getting you water. We're focused on getting you ammo. Chow will come later. Anything else will come later. We'll get you all the water and ammo you can use, but a lot of it may be by air drop, because the roads to get to you may not be open. And like I said, there is no cavalry. There is no reserve. You're gonna fight. And you're gonna stay there, and you're gonna fight until you win.

Final words:

Bottom line, fellas, is that this is the moment. This is the moment you've trained for. This is the moment you came into the Marine Corps for. This is the moment that all of us have been waiting for for a hell of a long time.

Total coverage- Times of London, NYT, WAPO, WSJ, Reuters, A.P. etc. Everybody's in so we'll have major egg on our face if gone or any rollback of stated intent. Nicholson seems clear that it's his intent to overwhelm large portions of Garmsir and SQUAT on the enemy from within by establishing COPs right in among the people...and do it NOW.

Don't know how much this brigade can cover and do so sustainably. Guess we'll find out soon. Seems Nicholson had hoped for an equal match of ANA but only has 500 instead of 4,000.

Just gotta wonder sometimes...

Anyway, it seems our Marines are geeked and it should be a bit of a help for the Brits. Guess I'm disappointed that the target is Garmsir. I'd hoped that we be aiming further south but it just goes to show that areas like Sangin, Lashkar Gar, and Garmsir aren't going to be easy nuts to crack.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

^^^ Answers my question to an extent - the plan is for the soldiers to stay in the areas they 'retake', and rebuild.

 

[Faruqi]

It seems Pakistan's preparing for the battle. Reports suggest a large number of troops were moved to the border region opposite Helmand

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Pakistan moves troops to Afghan border

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's army has deployed troops to a stretch of the Afghan border to stop Taliban militants fleeing a major US offensive in southern Afghanistan, a spokesman said Thursday.

Nearly 4,000 US Marines plus 650 Afghan forces moved into Afghanistan's Helmand province early Thursday to take on the Taliban in one of their strongholds.

Pakistani and US officials have expressed concern the American troop build up in southern Afghanistan could push the militants across the poorly guarded and mountainous border into Pakistan.

‘We've mustered more troops from the other areas of the border’ to deploy opposite the Helmand region, said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. ‘It is sort of a reorganisation.’

He said the threat of militants crossing over had been ‘visualised.’ He gave no more details.

Pakistan shares a 1,600-mile border with Afghanistan. The section opposite Helmand is around 160 miles long and lies in Baluchistan province, where US officials believe the Taliban's top leadership are hiding out. — AP

 

[Faruqi]

double post, please delete

 

[Ratus Ratus]

^^^ Answers my question to an extent - the plan is for the soldiers to stay in the areas they 'retake', and rebuild.

This has been occurring in various ways in Afghanistan.
In fact S-2 has pointed this out several times. Many have ignored this.

You may criticize this but I would also suggest you look to your own issue and make sure that is "clean" first.

Swat is still not 100% clean yet.

 

[EyelessInGaza]

Also interesting is the name of the operation "Khanjar" ... seems like they are learning the local language.

Surely, just think of the response if they had removed the 'h' in their ops name, eh?

On a serious note, hopefully this is a hammer and anvil kind of strategy, i.e. the American hammer to the PA anvil, as Gen. Abbas seems to imply in the story.

Because if the enemy escapes into Pakistan unmolested, there could be more trouble down the line.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

This has been occurring in various ways in Afghanistan.
In fact S-2 has pointed this out several times. Many have ignored this.

You may criticize this but I would also suggest you look to your own issue and make sure that is "clean" first.

Swat is still not 100% clean yet.

I never said Swat was a '100% clean' - what I am pointing out is that the Western media and 'analysts' need to 'look to their own issues', instead of chasing shadows to continuously disparage the Pakistani Military, and realize their criticism applies just as well at home.

My comments were in the context of, and therefore a rejoinder to, the analysis and criticism out of the West directed at Pakistan, by offering a comparison to Western efforts in Afghanistan - and not just crude criticism of the US/NATO in Afghanistan.

With all due respect, your advice to me is something the Western media and 'analysts' need to internalize first.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Surely, just think of the response if they had removed the 'h' in their ops name, eh?

........

 

[Ratus Ratus]

AgNoStIc MuSliM
No advice to you at all.
Only relevant comment to you was
This has been occurring in various ways in Afghanistan.
In fact S-2 has pointed this out several times.

The last sentence relates to the many who either ignored him or suggested he was in error. It could have been a separate paragraph but that may have required a re writing much of the previous sentence.


The rest is a general comment and was separated by a gap. But I could have made it a separate one line post.

So no advice to you at all. Just a confirmation of what you deducted from S-2's post.

 

[waraich66]

Marine General Takes Fight To Taliban-NPR

"Excerpts From Nicholson's Address To Troops

NPR.org, July 1, 2009 · Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, addressed his troops in Afghanistan before the operation launched early Thursday against Taliban-occupied areas.

Following are excerpts from his remarks at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province.

On the mission in the Helmand River valley:

Our job is to get in there and get it back [from the Taliban] ... We don't want to give the enemy one second to think about what he's going to do. Because we're going to be pushing so goddamn hard on the enemy. Our job is to go in there and make contact with the enemy — find the enemy, make contact with the enemy and then we'll hold on. This is an enemy that's used to having small-scale attacks and having the coalition pull back. There is no pullback. We will stay on him, and we will ride him until he's either dead or surrenders.

On the threat of roadside bombs:

Now, I'm concerned about the IEDs [roadside bombs] and I know you are, too. There's a hell of a lot of IEDs out there. As we get in there, we're going to get a better feel for who these people are who are putting them out. We're going to work the networks. And we're going to kill the guys that have a chance to go out there and lay them. But they are out there, and you need to know that.

On putting the Taliban on the defensive:

All too often, it is us who have to think about where we're going to go, where we're going to attack, what we're going to do. In this case, we're going to be so thick in his AO [area of operation] that he's going to have three choices: Stay and fight, which we hope he does; try to blend into the population and just pretend he's a local, in which case the Afghan army and police can sure as hell help identify that along with local leaders; and the third thing is run. And if he tries to run, we've got people waiting for him.

On the Marines' training and preparation:

You probably know the name of every little terrain feature in that AO. And that's good. Because you're going to need to. You're going to need to very quickly get into his turf and get comfortable and make him the guy on the run. Make him the guy who's going to have these decisions as to what he's going to do.

On defeating the enemy:

We'll kill and capture a hell of a lot of enemy over these next couple of weeks, I'm confident of that. And I hope the enemy does try to go chest-to-chest with you. It would be a hell of a big mistake, and I don't think his last mistake. And I suspect we'll see some of that.

On supporting the Afghan people:

We need to make sure we understand that the reason we're here is not necessarily the enemy. The reason we're here is the people. What won the war in al-Anbar province [Iraq] and what changed the war in al-Anbar was not that the enemy eventually got tired of fighting. It's that the people chose a side, and they chose us. We offer the one thing the enemy can never offer, and that's a future; that's hope. The people are looking to you.

On the need to minimize civilian casualties:

We'll surround that house and we'll wait. And here's the reason: If you drop that house and there's one woman, one child, one family in that house — you may have killed 20 Taliban, but by killing that woman or that child in that house, you have lost that community. You are dead to them. You are done. And when I talked to the governor [about this scenario], I said, 'Yeah, but governor, we will have killed 20 Taliban.' And he goes, 'Yeah, but you will have also killed the local family, and the people will always remember that.' The Taliban didn't kill that local family. You did. And as far as they're concerned, you killed locals and you're done. They will do anything they can at that point to help the Taliban and help the enemy against you.

On the media:

I tell you, personally I want the media out there because we've got a hell of a story to tell. I'll tell you, I've never in more than 30 years regretted embedding the media with the Marines that we've been associated with.

On the conditions in enemy territory, in the desert:

Bottom line, fellas, it's hot. It's gonna get hotter. Your packs are heavy. They're gonna get heavier. Our resupply to you is going to be tough. We're focused on getting you water. We're focused on getting you ammo. Chow will come later. Anything else will come later. We'll get you all the water and ammo you can use, but a lot of it may be by air drop, because the roads to get to you may not be open. And like I said, there is no cavalry. There is no reserve. You're gonna fight. And you're gonna stay there, and you're gonna fight until you win.

Final words:

Bottom line, fellas, is that this is the moment. This is the moment you've trained for. This is the moment you came into the Marine Corps for. This is the moment that all of us have been waiting for for a hell of a long time.

Total coverage- Times of London, NYT, WAPO, WSJ, Reuters, A.P. etc. Everybody's in so we'll have major egg on our face if gone or any rollback of stated intent. Nicholson seems clear that it's his intent to overwhelm large portions of Garmsir and SQUAT on the enemy from within by establishing COPs right in among the people...and do it NOW.

Don't know how much this brigade can cover and do so sustainably. Guess we'll find out soon. Seems Nicholson had hoped for an equal match of ANA but only has 500 instead of 4,000.

Just gotta wonder sometimes...

Anyway, it seems our Marines are geeked and it should be a bit of a help for the Brits. Guess I'm disappointed that the target is Garmsir. I'd hoped that we be aiming further south but it just goes to show that areas like Sangin, Lashkar Gar, and Garmsir aren't going to be easy nuts to crack.

Talaban are every where in Afghanistan north to south but still not vissible , which increases the frustration level of attacking forces , they normally attack in darkness because chase is difficult.Practically ISAF forces are under siege of talaban.

I dont think present attacks will bring any effect on network of talaban just release pressure on nerves of marines who are under continues tension and axiety.

 

[waraich66]

US Marines launch
major offensive in Afghanistan



By Jason Straziuso
Associated Press
July 2, 2009

NAWA, Afghanistan – Thousands of U.S. Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages in southern Afghanistan on Thursday in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize the country.

The offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday local time (4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, 2030 GMT Wednesday) in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold and the world's largest opium poppy-producing area. The goal is to clear insurgents from the hotly contested region before the nation's Aug. 20 presidential election.
The Marines have not suffered any serious casualties and have seen only a sporadic resistance, said Lt. Abe Sipe, a spokesman for the unit.

"The enemy has chosen to withdraw rather than engage for the most part," Sipe said. "We had a couple of heat casualties, but not deemed serious in nature at this time."

The operation came as U.S. military announced that one of its soldiers was missing and believed captured by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday. The missing soldier was not involved in the Helmand operation.

Officials described the offensive — dubbed Khanjar or "Strike of the Sword" — as the largest and fastest-moving of the war's new phase and the biggest Marine offensive since the one in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. It involves nearly 4,000 newly arrived Marines plus 650 Afghan forces. British forces last week led similar, but smaller, missions to clear out insurgents in Helmand and neighboring Kandahar province.

"Where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold, build and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces," Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson said in a statement.

Pakistan's army said it had moved troops from elsewhere on its side of the Afghan border to the stretch opposite Helmand to try to stop any militants from fleeing the offensive. It gave no more details, but U.S. and Pakistani officials have expressed concern that stepped-up operations in southern Afghanistan could push the insurgents across the border.
Transport helicopters carried hundreds of Marines into the village of Nawa, some 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, in a region where no U.S. or other NATO troops have operated in large numbers.

The troops took many insurgents by surprise, dropping behind Taliban lines, said Capt. Drew Schoenmaker, from Greene, New York.

"We are kind of forging new ground here. We are going to a place nobody has been before," said Schoenmaker, 31, who commands Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.
Daybreak brought the sporadic crackle of gunfire. Medical helicopters circled overhead and landed, indicating possible early casualties among the Marines.

A Marine unit in Nawa traded gunfire with a group of some 20 insurgents, while Afghan troops exchanged small arms fire with militants after they were attacked with rocket propelled grenades fired from several houses. A Cobra helicopter circling overhead for most of the day fired rockets at a tree line nearby. Other troops walked through fields of corn and past mud-wall homes. Only a handful of villagers dared to venture outside.

A roadside bomb early in the mission wounded one Marine, but he was able to continue, spokesman Capt. Bill Pelletier said.

Southern Afghanistan is a Taliban stronghold but also a region where Afghan President Hamid Karzai is seeking votes from fellow Pashtun tribesmen.

The Pentagon is deploying 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in time for the elections and expects the total number of U.S. forces there to reach 68,000 by year's end. That is double the number of troops in Afghanistan in 2008 but still half as many as are now in Iraq.

The Taliban, who took control of Afghanistan in 1996 and were ousted from power following a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, have made a violent comeback, wreaking havoc in much of the country's south and east, forcing the United States to pour in the new troops.

Pelletier said troops in Thursday's operation were sent in by a mixture of aircraft and ground transport under the cover of darkness.

The operation aims to show "the Afghan people that when we come in, we are going to stay long enough to set up their own institutions," Pelletier said.

Once on the ground, the troops will meet with local leaders, hear their needs and act on them, Pelletier said.

"We do not want people of Helmand province to see us as an enemy. We want to protect them from the enemy," Pelletier said.

Thousands of British forces, fighting under NATO command, have been in Helmand since 2006 with broadly the same strategy, but security has deteriorated. They have met with stronger resistance than initially expected against Taliban fighters bankrolled by the vast opium and heroin trade.

Reversing the insurgency's momentum has been a key component of the new U.S. strategy, and thousands of additional troops allow commanders to push and stay into areas where international and Afghan troops had no permanent presence before.

While Marine troops were the bulk of the force, recently arrived U.S. Army helicopters were also taking part in the operation.

In March, Obama unveiled his strategy for Afghanistan, seeking to defeat al-Qaida terrorists there and in Pakistan with a bigger force and a new commander. Taliban and other extremists, including those allied with al-Qaida, routinely cross the two nations' border in Afghanistan's remote south.

Last year, NATO and Pakistani forces cooperated in a series of complementary operations on the border, but the overall commitment of Islamabad to Washington's aims in Afghanistan has long been questioned. Pakistan has frequently been accused in the past of failing to stop — and sometimes aiding — the movement of insurgents into Afghanistan from its side of the border.

The governor of Helmand province predicted Operation Khanjar would be "very effective."

"The security forces will build bases to provide security for the local people so that they can carry out every activity with this favorable background and take their lives forward in peace," Gov. Gulab Mangal said in a Pentagon news release.

Obama aims to boost the Afghan army from 80,000 to 134,000 troops by 2011 — and greatly increase training by U.S. troops accompanying them — so the Afghan military can take control of the war. The White House also is pushing forces to set clear goals for a war gone awry, provide more resources and make a better case for international support.

There is no timetable for withdrawal, and the White House has not estimated how many billions of dollars its plan will cost.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, insurgents captured an American soldier on Tuesday, said Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a U.S. military spokeswoman. The missing soldier was not part of the Helmand operation.

"We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return," Mathias said.

Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.

Afghan Police Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said the soldier went missing in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province, where there is an American base.

Zabiullah Mujaheed, a spokesman for the Taliban, could not confirm that the soldier was with any of their militant forces. A myriad of insurgent groups operate in eastern Afghanistan, and the Taliban is only one of them.

The soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of the unit on Tuesday and was first listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown," a U.S. defense official said on condition of anonymity because details are still sketchy.

Two U.S. defense sources said the soldier "just walked off" post with three Afghan counterparts after he finished working. They said they had no explanation for why he left the base. He was assigned to a combat outpost, one of a number of smaller bases set up by foreign forces in Afghanistan, the officials said.

The most important insurgent group operating in that area is known as Haqqani network and is led by Siraj Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings.

__

Associated Press writers Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul, Nahal Toosi in Islamabad and Lara Jakes and Pauline Jelinek in Washington contributed to this report.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q&A - How will new assault
change the war in Afghanistan?

Jonathon Burch
Reuters
July 2, 2009

Thousands of U.S. Marines stormed into a river valley in southern Helmand province on Thursday in an operation seeking to break the Taliban's hold on the key opium-growing region and turn the tide of the war in Afghanistan. Skip related content

Following are questions and answers about what impact Operation Khanjar, or "Strike of the Sword," might have.

WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO ACHIEVE?

The Marines hope by appearing suddenly and in overwhelming numbers, they can capture some of the Taliban's firmest strongholds with little resistance. U.S. commanders say a rapid, decisive victory in the Helmand valley will turn the course of a war some in Washington have said they are not winning.

But launching such a bold operation also carries great risk. A protracted, bloody fight could erode support for the war in the United States, among its NATO allies and, most importantly, among Afghans the U.S. government and military are trying to win over.

"In every counter-insurgency there are times when you have to go in after the insurgents. There are no retired insurgents, but we can't afford to make more enemies along the way," General Stanley McChrystal, who has taken over foreign forces in Afghanistan with a new counter-insurgency strategy, has said.

WILL THEY BE ABLE TO HOLD THE GROUND THEY WIN?

That has been the biggest problem so far for overstretched, British-led NATO troops in Helmand. Without enough manpower, they have been forced to defend scattered outposts and move into areas by day, only to withdraw back to barracks hours later and watch the Taliban flood back in.
Some 10,000 U.S. Marines are now in Helmand, more than double the size of British-led forces.

"One of the biggest problems in the counter-insurgency fight in Afghanistan is that when NATO forces launch an operation and clean up an area, they create a vacuum," said Haroun Mir, political analyst and co-founder of the Afghanistan Centre for Research and Policy Studies in Kabul.

"They cannot stay in that area ... then the Taliban come out from their hideouts and take over the village again," he said.

But commanders now hope the extra troops will allow them to hold ground by setting up small bases, effectively living and fighting among the people, a strategy adopted from the Iraq war.

DOES IT HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE?

A key component of the operation is winning the trust of the local Afghan population.

Company commanders have been ordered to set up shuras, or community councils, with the local populations within 24 hours of arriving in towns and villages.

"I want to make sure you understand ... we're attempting to seize the population. We're going to seize the population from the Taliban and never let them go," said Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Cabaniss, commander of the 2nd battalion, 8th Marines.

Mir said this was crucial.

"This is what McChrystal, I think, has grasped in Afghanistan -- to reach out to Afghan people and try and bring them on board instead of alienating them," said Mir.

Military commanders hope by the end of the summer to provide security for 90 percent of the population in the south, up from about 60 percent now.

WHAT ABOUT RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT?

Poor security has largely kept foreign aid organisations out of the south, particularly in Helmand.

The Afghan government and foreign military commanders hope by securing and holding parts of Helmand, aid organisations will be able to move in and begin reconstruction in an area that has seen little or no development.

"In this district the people have asked the government to help them. This operation will improve things," said Daoud Ahmadi, spokesman for the governor of Helmand.

Saleem Zmarial, adviser to Helmand's governor on development and counter narcotics, said: "The people there need to start a new life with access to healthcare and clean water."

WILL IT BE A LONG FIGHT?

While military commanders hope their overwhelming numbers will overpower the insurgents with little resistance, Taliban fighters have had years to reinforce positions among the valley's irrigation ditches and canals, fiercely resisting past advances.

The Taliban say they will oppose the Marines but are unlikely to challenge them in face-to-face combat, which they would almost certainly lose. The insurgents are more likely to dig in and use deadly roadside bombs and similar tactics.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

American soldier feared captured in Afghanistan

By Fisnik Abrashi
Associated Press
July 2, 2009

KABUL – Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan after he walked off post with his three Afghan counterparts, officials said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier disappeared Tuesday.

"We have all available resources out there looking for him and hopefully providing for his safe return," Mathias said.

Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.

The news broke as thousands of U.S. Marines launched a major anti-Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan. The missing soldier was not part of that operation.

"We are not providing further details to protect the soldier's well-being," she said.

Afghan Police Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said the soldier went missing in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province, where there is an American base.

The soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of the unit on Tuesday and was first listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown," a U.S. defense official said on condition of anonymity.

It wasn't until Thursday that officials said publicly that he was missing and described him as "believed captured." Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.

Initial reports indicated that the soldier was off duty at the time he went missing, having just completed a shift, the official said on condition of anonymity because details are still sketchy.

The missing man is an enlisted soldier, and his family has been notified.

Two U.S. defense sources said the soldier "just walked off" post with three Afghan counterparts after he finished working. They said they had no explanation for why he left the base. He was assigned to a combat outpost, one of a number of smaller bases set up by foreign forces in Afghanistan, the officials said.

Zabiullah Mujaheed, a spokesman for the Taliban, could not confirm that the soldier was with any of their forces. A myriad of insurgent groups operate in eastern Afghanistan, and the Taliban is only one of them.

The most important insurgent group operating in that area is known as Haqqani network and is led by Siraj Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings.
___

Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek in Washington contributed to this report.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Security developments in Afghanistan

July 2 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Afghanistan at 1400 GMT on Thursday.

HELMAND - About 4,000 U.S. Marines and 650 Afghan troops launched a major offensive in southern Helmand province, a traditional Taliban stronghold, U.S. military commanders said. A U.S. military spokesman said there had been small skirmishes and some minor casualties had been reported. A Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, said one Taliban fighter had been killed and two wounded and claimed that 11 foreign troops had been killed or wounded.

PAKTIKA - A U.S. soldier has been missing since Tuesday and was thought to have been captured by insurgents in southeastern Paktika province, the U.S. military said in a statement.

ZABUL - Afghan police killed nine insurgents in Dai Chopan district in southeastern Zabul, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. A tonne of explosives was also uncovered in the operation, it said. HELMAND - Britain's Ministry of Defence identified as British two soldiers from the NATO-led force who were killed in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday. They were killed during an operation near Lashkar Gah, it said in a statement.

(Compiled by Golnar Motevalli; Editing by Paul Tait)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACLU Says Government Used False Confessions

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post
Thursday, July 2, 2009

The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday accused the Obama administration of using statements elicited through torture to justify the confinement of a detainee it represents at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The ACLU is asking a federal judge to throw out those statements and others made by Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan who may have been as young as 12 when he was captured. His attorney argued that Jawad was abused in U.S. custody, threatened and subjected to intense sleep deprivation.

"The government's continued reliance on evidence gained by torture and other abuse violates centuries of U.S. law and suggests the current administration is not really serious about breaking with the past," said ACLU lawyer Jonathan Hafetz, who is representing Jawad in a lawsuit challenging his detention.

Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said the government would not comment on the types of evidence it will use in Jawad's case challenging his imprisonment. "We intend to prove our case in court rather than attempt to do so through the media," Boyd said.

In court papers, the Justice Department alleges that Jawad threw a grenade into a vehicle containing two U.S. Special Forces soldiers and their Afghan interpreter on Dec. 17, 2002. Jawad was also associated with a group tied to Osama bin Laden, the government alleges.

After the grenade attack, Jawad was picked up by Afghan police, according to military and federal court records.

During U.S. military commission hearings on his case, a judge found that Afghan interrogators threatened to kill Jawad and his family if he did not confess to playing a role in the attack. Jawad then admitted to participating in the attack, wrote the judge, Army Col. Stephen R. Henley.

Later the same night, he was questioned by U.S. Special Forces and confessed again, Henley wrote.

 

[ajpirzada]

glad to see US doin something other than the 'do more, do more' speech.
if they stay in the villages, build the infrastructure, and economically empower the locals then this operation can be really successfull. talibans will obviously melt away. and therefore the real aim of this operation should be to strengthen the locals to an extent that they could themselves stop taliban from risin again in the region atleast.

 

[S-2]

"...if they stay in the villages, build the infrastructure, and economically empower the locals then this operation can be really successfull. talibans will obviously melt away. and therefore the real aim of this operation should be to strengthen the locals to an extent that they could themselves stop taliban from risin again in the region atleast."

One hundred percent accurate- in general. Still, if so then there's the troublesome question of 22% of ISAF's TOTAL strength dedicated to fighting and sustaining the writ of gov't over an area that is geographically Afghanistan's largest province yet holds only 1/32nd of the population.

Is this good use of valued assets if securing the populace is now the primary objective?

I know that the forces involved in Garmsir hope to achieve your goals and do so while operating under ROEs (rules of engagement) more restrictive than at any time prior during this war. I also suspect that our marines would welcome a fight, even under these more restrictive conditions. Whether they find one or not, though, is less relevant than if they are able to substantively secure this area for the foreseeable future.

I also know that there's a small matter of 66% of Afghanistan's opium being cultivated in Helmand. Something tells me that explains what EVERYBODY is doing there.

I'll be interested to read how we determine whether our efforts are having any positive effect. I think many future decisions ride on the outcome of these operations now- both as events driving political decisions, if failures, as well as potential operational models for the future if successful.

 

[Watani]

What Afghanistan really need is education in Southern part and more work availability in Southern part, because now basically most help is being provided to the Northern part. Southern part is bordered with Waziristan where majority of Taliban is, and it becomes easier for them to fluent kids and families to hand their sons over to them and in return make false promises to them. Because those families are uneducated and got no money for food, they just agree with the Taliban blindly. And the more guys Taliban manage to take with them to Waziristan, the more it will harm both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

[EyelessInGaza]

........

Hey AM? CNN.com actually had spelt it without the 'h' today in a headline on the home page! I wish I had taken a screen shot.