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Posts Tagged afghanistan
General Petraeus leaves a still deadly Afghanistan to head CIA
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch, Warriors on 14/Jul/2011 21:02
“When U.S. General David Petraeus was named supreme commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan one year ago, he had the reputation of something of a military miracle worker.
He was dubbed King David, the man who set unruly Iraq to rights, and lauded as the most influential general of his era, a warrior-scholar and the brilliant mind behind the American military’s new gospel of counterinsurgency.
…Gen. Petraeus had more than double the number of Afghan and foreign soldiers under his command than were available to fight the Taliban just three years ago. They created a new dynamic that critics say made Afghanistan a more violent place and spread the insurgency.”
Marines’ tour was one of the most brutal of the entire war
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Warriors on 12/Jul/2011 17:09
“These Marines’ tour was one of the most brutal of the entire war. In its first three weeks in Afghanistan’s Sangin district, the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines got into more than 100 firefights, and sustained 62 casualties. The insurgents managed to negate the Marines’ night-vision gear, and rendered their traditional close-combat tactics useless. Things got so bad, the 3/5’s superior officers even suggested pulling their troops back.
That didn’t happen. Instead, the 3/5 went after the militants, hard. They went on the offensive constantly. They leveled booby-trapped compounds without apology. They didn’t bother with school-building until the insurgents were back on their heels. Nor did they mess with the poppy growers; the Marines had more than their fair share of enemies.”
British Female Medic Awarded Military Cross
From: American Ranger
Courageous Army medic awarded Military Cross
By Brian Brady, Whitehall Editor
Sunday, 27 March 2011
An Army medic who put herself in “mortal danger” to treat a wounded Afghan soldier under heavy Taliban fire has been awarded the Military Cross, Britain’s third-highest medal for gallantry.
Lance Corporal Kylie Watson, who gave the casualty medical care in exposed open ground for 20 minutes before getting him to a helicopter, is one of more than 130 servicemen and women commended for bravery in the latest military honours list.
The medic, who also made a 100-yard dash through enemy fire to help another Afghan soldier, was praised for her “immense courage [and] willingness to put her own life at risk”.
L/Cpl Watson, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, stemmed the soldier’s bleeding despite being hampered by other Afghan troops, and got the injured man to a helicopter landing site 200 yards away.
Meet “the snapper.â€
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 8/Jul/2011 00:16
by Michael Yon
“The enemy has difficulty hitting our vehicles with RCIEDs (radio-controlled IEDs) because our countermeasures are excellent. Low-tech inexpensive methods, such as land mines, can work against us on roads, but the problem with land mines is that they are dumb and they blow up the first thing that ticks them off, which likely will be civilian traffic. Enemy CIVCAS toxifies their operating environment and also misses their target.
And so the enemy has developed techniques to circumvent countermeasures and reduce CIVCAS. One of those techniques is “the snapper.â€
The snapper uses a tire for a diaphragm in which nails are used for contacts. When a vehicle rolls over a snapper, the circuit closes. To avoid CIVCAS, the enemy waits in hiding with a battery. One of the electrodes is connected. Traffic is allowed to roll over the snapper but there is no explosion. When the target approaches, the enemy attaches the other connection and now the snapper is ARMED.”
Taliban Hotel Attack: Low Death Toll, High Psychological Value
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 7/Jul/2011 13:54
Taliban Hotel Attack: Low Death Toll, High Psychological Value is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Scott Stewart
At about 10 p.m. on June 28, a group of heavily armed militants attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to government and media reports, the attack team consisted of eight or nine militants who were reportedly wearing suicide vests in addition to carrying other weapons. At least three of the attackers detonated their vests during the drawn-out fight. Afghan security forces, assisted by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), needed some eight hours to clear the hotel of attackers. One group of militants even worked their way up to the roof of the hotel, where they fired several rocket-propelled grenades.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 12 people, as well as all the militants. The Taliban had a different take on the attack, posting a series of statements on their website claiming responsibility and saying the assault was conducted by eight operatives who killed 90 people and that the real news of their success was being suppressed. (Initially, the Taliban claimed to have killed 200 in the attack but reduced the toll to 90 in later statements.)
NATO and ISAF spokesmen have noted their belief that, due to the location and use of suicide bombers in the attack, the Haqqani network was involved in the operation. On the evening of June 29, a NATO airstrike killed Ismail Jan, a senior Haqqani leader in Afghanistan who NATO claims was involved in planning the hotel attack. Read the rest of this entry »
The Taliban Will Rule Afghanistan
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 3/Jul/2011 20:07
By Walid Phares
The administration’s plan for Afghanistan may include reconciliation with the Taliban, but the latter have no plans that allow American gains, much less bilateral-negotiations to end the conflict.
It appears that the administration is tangoing with an imaginary partner. Neville Chamberlain’s wishful Sept. 30, 1938 proclamation, “I have returned to Germany with peace in our time,†should serve as a chilling reminder to those who are under the illusion that war is receding which in fact, it is about to escalate into global conflict.
The Taliban strategy is not obscure; most of it has been announced, publicized and is based in ideology, as has been the case with totalitarian movements throughout history. U.S. inability to grasp Taliban plans is not due to the jihadists’ highly-developed denial and deception skills, but rather to the unwillingness or inability of the U.S. and its allies to see it.
The Taliban long-term strategic plan is simple: practice taqiyya to gain terrain and power; resume jihad to eliminate the other forms of governance; and implement their version of Shariah to reverse democracy.
http://www.newsmax.com/WalidPhares/taliban-shariah-afghanistan-Taqiyya/2011/07/02/id/402288
Robert Gates Served 8 Presidents
From: Boston Globe
Gates is known to tear up when he talks to troops, particularly during visits to the war front. He acknowledged that in his comments yesterday, saying he knew it would be difficult to get through his remarks if he tried to include a tribute to the armed forces.
So he sent an e-mail message to all members of the military on Wednesday, lauding the troops for their courage and commitment.
“For 4 1/2 years, I have signed the orders deploying you, all too often into harm’s way. This has weighed on me every day,’’ he said in the note. “I have tried to do all I could to provide whatever was needed so you could complete your missions successfully and come home safely – and, if hurt, get the fastest and best care in the world.’’
Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute Plans to Step Down
From: National Journal
With the Obama administration’s new Afghan drawdown timetable in place, two of the most senior officials charged with managing the long war there are moving on.
Officials familiar with the matter say the White House’s top adviser on Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, plans to step down this summer. Maj. Gen. Frederick “Ben†Hodges, the director of the Pentagon’s Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell, will step aside next week to assume a new post at the helm of the Army’s legislative affairs office, according to officials familiar with the matter. Neither move has been formally announced.
Senior Leader of Al Qaeda Group Captured in Afghanistan — Dressed as Woman
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 29/Jun/2011 01:34
KABUL, Afghanistan — A senior leader of an Al Qaeda-linked terror group has been captured in northern Afghanistan dressed up like a woman — the latest in a recent series of cases involving male militants disguised as females, the U.S.-led military coalition said Tuesday.
A joint Afghan and coalition force apprehended a senior figure from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and two of his associates during a nighttime operation Monday in Kunduz city, NATO said.
It said the militant, who also supported the Taliban network, had planned attacks against the Afghan National Police, as well as various suicide bombings and assaults against other Afghan security forces.
The coalition said there also have been a handful of recent reports of female combatants in burqas.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/06/28/senior-leader-al-qaeda-group-captured-while-dressed-as-woman/#ixzz1Qe02i2ys
Death Toll in Afghan Hotel Raid Rises to 10
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 29/Jun/2011 01:27
Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan.
“Suicide attackers stormed a popular Western-style hotel in Afghanistan on Tuesday, setting off explosions and exchanging gunfire with Afghan authorities for hours until NATO helicopters took out three of the remaining gunmen.
Guests at the Inter-Continental hotel in Kabul hid in their rooms during the attack, which killed 10 Afghan civilians — mostly hotel workers — and wounded 8, according to Afghan officials. The six suicide bombers and four gunmen involved in the raid were killed.”
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/06/29/death-toll-in-brazen-afghan-hotel-raid-rises-to-10/
Medics Learn War Dog 101
From Military Times:
“Canines differ in anatomy and physiology,†the guidelines say. “Knowledge of key differences will assist the physician in resuscitating and stabilizing … prior to transport to veterinary care.â€
President’s Address on Afghanistan
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch, Warriors on 23/Jun/2011 13:20
President’s speech on Afghanistan from June 22, 2011.
Obama’s Afghanistan Plan and the Realities of Withdrawal
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 23/Jun/2011 13:16
Obama’s Afghanistan Plan and the Realities of Withdrawal is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Nathan Hughes
U.S. President Barack Obama announced June 22 that the long process of drawing down forces in Afghanistan would begin on schedule in July. Though the 
initial phase of the drawdown appears limited, minimizing the tactical and operational impact on the ground in the immediate future, the United States and its allies are now beginning the inevitable process of removing their forces from Afghanistan. This will entail the risk of greater Taliban battlefield successes.
The Logistical Challenge
Afghanistan, a landlocked country in the heart of Central Asia, is one of the most isolated places on Earth. This isolation has posed huge logistical challenges for the United States. Hundreds of shipping containers and fuel trucks must enter the country every day from Pakistan and from the north to sustain the nearly 150,000 U.S. and allied forces stationed in Afghanistan, about half the total number of Afghan security forces. Supplying a single gallon of gasoline in Afghanistan reportedly costs the U.S. military an average of $400, while sustaining a single U.S. soldier runs around $1 million a year (by contrast, sustaining an Afghan soldier costs about $12,000 a year). Read the rest of this entry »
Taliban Uses Children In Suicide Attacks
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch on 21/Jun/2011 08:39
Use Of Children In Suicide Attacks Part Of ‘Ruthless’ Escalation For Taliban
NationalJournal.com
The Taliban have begun using child suicide bombers in eastern Afghanistan, underscoring the increasingly brutal nature of the fighting in a volatile region that is emerging as the central front of the U.S.-led war.
As U.S. pullout nears, Taliban attacks undermine confidence
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 9/Jun/2011 20:14
By HASHIM SHUKOOR
McClatchy Newspapers
KABUL, Afghanistan — A 6-week-old Taliban offensive that has struck some of the most peaceful parts of Afghanistan and killed police commanders and senior officials is undermining confidence in the Afghan army and police just as the Obama administration considers how quickly it should begin drawing down U.S. forces here.
The campaign, whose targets have included high-level meetings of government officials and supposedly secure facilities in Kabul, including the Defense Ministry, has left many Afghans uncertain of the competency of the security forces and their loyalty.
Particularly unsettling for many was the attack April 18 in which a Taliban sympathizer wearing a military uniform entered the heavily defended Defense Ministry building and opened fire.”
“A suicide attacker getting into the Defense Ministry shows the government’s weakness,” said Abdul Samad, a 25-year-old mechanic, when he was asked about his sense of Afghanistan’s security situation. Such an attack “makes people lose trust in the security forces.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/09/2259271/as-us-pullout-nears-taliban-bombs.html#ixzz1Opb045Do