Posts Tagged Petraeus

M1 Abrams Tanks Arrive in Afghanistan

In another increase of force, a small contingent of Abrams tanks are headed to Afghanistan.

From The Washington Post:

The deployment of a company of M1 Abrams tanks, which will be fielded by the Marines in the country’s southwest, will allow ground forces to target insurgents from a greater distance – and with more of a lethal punch – than is possible from any other U.S. military vehicle. The 68-ton tanks are propelled by a jet engine and equipped with a 120mm main gun that can destroy a house more than a mile away.

The Marines had wanted to take tanks into Afghanistan when they began deploying in large numbers in spring 2009, but the top coalition commander then, Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, rejected the request, in part because of concern it could remind Afghans of the tank-heavy Soviet occupation in the 1980s. As it became clear that other units were getting the green light to engage in more heavy-handed measures, the Marines asked again, noting that Canadian and Danish troops had used a small number of tanks in southern Afghanistan. This time, the decision rested with Petraeus, who has been in charge of coalition forces in Afghanistan since July. He approved it last month, the officials said.

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Petraeus orders probe into failed rescue operation.

Linda Norgrove was seized in the province of Kunar on 26 September

“The US commander in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, has ordered an investigation into the death of a British aid worker held hostage.

Linda Norgrove’s death on Friday as US forces tried to rescue her was initially blamed on her Afghan captors.

But Prime Minister David Cameron said she may have been accidentally killed by a US grenade.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11518837

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