Afghans, Spanish Hit Taliban in Baghdis
Jul 3 at 5:05pm by David
25 Taliban fighters, including a local commander, were killed in Muqur district, Baghdis Province, by Afghan Security Forces (ASF) backed by Spanish International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops.
Provincial Police Chief Mohammad Ayub Nearzyar told the Pak Tribune the ten hour fight went into the early morning of July 3rd after a joint patrol was attacked. One Afghan was wounded.
While Baghdis Province is a relatively quiet province that lies in the northwest of the country, there is an active Taliban presence there. The most recent significant combat took place June 1st when 48 militants were killed in air strikes after attacking a joint Spanish/Afghan patrol.
24th MEU Extended in Afghanistan
Jul 3 at 3:03pm by David
The 2,200 members of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Force (MEU) will be in Afghanistan a month longer than expected and are now due home in November instead of October. That announcement came from Marine Colonel David Lapan to the Associated Press July 3rd. The confirmation follows weeks of rumors that the Marines would be extended.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also reiterated that the unit is a surge force and there are no plans to immediately replace the Marines when they finish their mission. In 2004, the 22nd MEU was also extended a month before departing Afghanistan without replacement.
The extended month all but assures the Marines are destined for a new hot spot as things around Garmser, where the combat element of the MEU is concentrated, remain relatively quiet. A Marine spokeswoman tells me that the situation is Garmser is considered “stable”. However, sporadic contact with Taliban fighters still occurs along the Marines’ southern line.
According to Captain Kelly Frushour, Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 1/6, spent most of May fighting the 120 degree heat while holding the key route from Garmser toward the Kandahar/Pakistani border, in the area east of the Helmand River. The Taliban was wedged in between the Marines and the river to the west. In late May, the Marines punched out south and west of their positions, clearing the area as they went.
With a majority of the insurgent population having been pushed out of the Marines’ current area of operations, most of June was spent by Marines conducting census patrols trying to determine who belongs and who doesn’t. Security patrols also regularly turn up unexploded ordinance, weapons caches and IEDs.
Image: BLT 1/6 during combat operations in early May. Provided by 24th MEU Public Affairs.
Taliban Assault on District Center Defeated
Jul 2 at 10:10pm by David
Afghan Security Forces successfully defended the Deh Chopan district center in western Zabul Province July 2nd. The early morning, two hour firefight left five Taliban dead. Two Taliban and two police officers were wounded.
Since US Marines first air assaulted into the region in 2004, Deh Chopan has been a continually contested district. As recently as June 15, a combined Coalition/Afghan Security Forces force killed 20 Taliban fighters after their reconnaissance patrol was ambushed with rockets, mortars and small arms.
Deh Chopan is one of the first districts to receive training from the Focused District Development (FDD) program; an American initiative to completely overhaul the Afghan police forces. Zabul police forces are often cited by US officials in regards to their effectiveness against the Taliban.
This attack is the latest in a series of attacks against district centers in southeast Afghanistan within the past two weeks. June 24th, three district centers were successfully defended by Afghan Security Forces and US air power against concentrated Taliban attacks in neighboring Paktia and Paktika Provinces.
Image: District Center, Deh Chopan district, Zabul Province. Provided by the US Army/Capt. Bob Everdeen.
US Special Forces Take a Hit in Afghanistan
Jul 1 at 10:10pm by David
Three American Green Berets patrolling near Khosrow-E, Arghandab district, Kandahar Province, are killed when their vehicle rolls into a riverbed.
Sgt. James Treber, MSgt. Shawn Simmons and SFC. Jefferey Radamorales died June 27th while on patrol in an area that saw heavy fighting in mid-June.
To the north and west, Green Beret SSgt. Travis Hunsberger was killed in Lamay, Oruzgan Province, when he stepped on a pressure plate IED while on a reconnaissance patrol June 29th.
All four soldiers were members of 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (SFG).
To the west, in Farah Province, SSgt. Edgar Heredia, from the 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, was killed in an ambush June 26th. Five other coalition members were wounded, as were two Afghan National Army soldiers.
Italians Moving 500 Troops to Farah
Jul 1 at 9:09pm by David
Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa says 500 Italian troops, presently stationed in Herat, will move to the turbulent southwestern Afghan Province of Farah. The move will coincide with the French take over of command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Command Capital from Italy in July.
The Italians currently have 160 troops already in Farah supporting the Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and allied forces at FOB Delaram, which sits on the vital “Ring Road” near the border with Helmand Province.
Altogether, approximately 2,700 Italian troops are in Afghanistan, about 2,500 of which are in Herat, where the Italians currently hold command of ISAF Command West.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the Italians made a pledge to make their troops more “flexible ” in a region of Afghanistan the Italians have been in force since 2005; an area that has seen only sporadic security issues until recently.
US Marines, who have been operating in Farah since April, have suffered seven killed with several others wounded in just the past few weeks.
One Marine, from the Marine Special Operations Battalion, was killed in Gulistan district. Five others, plus two Afghan National Army soldiers, were wounded.
Six other Marines and a sailor, from 2nd Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment, have also been killed in Farah, including four in one IED attack. 2/7 Marines are in Farah and Helmand Provinces to provide security and mentoring to local Afghan Security Forces as part of the Focused District Development (FDD) program. FDD is the Americans’ newest effort to establish a credible, trustworthy police force in the southern part of the country. The program is expected to be nationwide and by 2012.
This spate of violence follows a very successful batch of military operations launched by the coalition during the last week of May:
May 24th - 12 Taliban are killed in Bala Buluk when a US/Afghan patrol came under fire. The two-hour fight also left two Afghan police dead.
May 28th - NATO air strikes kill as many as 30 Taliban in Bala Buluk. Two Afghan policeman and one Afghan soldier are also killed.
May 29th - The coalition pressure continues to the south of Bala Buluk as they take Bakwa District back from the Taliban who have been in control almost a year. The fighting leaves more than 100 Taliban and one American Special Forces soldier dead.
Clarification edit: 7/4/08 0823
An American Story
Jun 24 at 8:08am by David
There’s a lot of negative talk regarding the US these days. I hear a lot about money, hypocrisy and… well, the white man. The oppressive white man. Fact is, there’s a lot of ammunition out there for folks that believe these thoughts that are, like any generalization, stereotypes.
I’ve had the great fortune of meeting many, many service people from all branches as well as from a variety of countries. While I have to admit I’ve seen my fair share of gung ho, trigger happy Americans, I have seen far more US soldiers and Marines like the one I’m about to introduce.
Meet Lt. Col. (now Colonel) Lapthe Flora. In 2006, when I did this story, Flora was a battalion commander in the 29th Infantry Division with the job of leading Task Force Red Dragon as part of the KFOR mission to Kosovo.
What makes Flora so intriguing is his background. He’s a top level man at ITT in Roanoke (which makes the nightvision goggles for US troops) and very established in the region. His upbringing was much different though. Among other things, Flora escaped the communists in Vietnam by living in the mountain jungles for years. He became a boat person and a refugee. He was eventually adopted by an American couple who saw him graduate high school in near-record time and then shipped him off to VMI for his education.
Now, after all of that, Lapthe Flora is able to give back some of the blessings he was fortunate enough to find. This is an American citizen soldier that is a great example of what true Americans are like.
Arghandab is Clear of Taliban
Jun 17 at 8:08am by David
US officials are saying the stories regarding a large presence of Taliban just northwest of Kandahar are unfounded:
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (June 17, 2008) – Afghan National Police and Coalition forces completed a patrol in the Arghandab District of Kandahar province today and found no evidence that militants control the area.
While in the area, Coalition forces moved freely and met no resistance. Recent reports of militant control in the area appear to be unfounded.
The threat of militant activity still exists throughout the province, but the patrol found no indication that militants have overwhelming strength in the Arghandab area.
History
The story of the Taliban massing broke June 16th, just three days after more than 800 inmates, including 400 Taliban, escaped from prison following a well planned attack that left the facility in ruins.
The report that the area is calm is a very stark difference than that of the plethora of reports out there claiming otherwise.
Some reports claim the Taliban hold at least 18 villages and are currently digging in for the upcoming fight, with hundreds of civillians fleeing the area.
Filling the Void
Jun 16 at 7:07am by David
Now that the tide in southern Afghanistan is turning, how will the coalition sustain their gains?
The US Marines fighting to regain control of Garmser have had an, “astonishing effect”, Britian’s Defense Minister Des Browne recently told Reuters. “We don’t intend to give up what we have created.”
To back that up, Britian announced on June 16th that they are prepared to send more troops to Afghanistan in coming months. This on top of the extra maneuver unit they sent to reinforce last year.
Holding Helmand
The key to keeping Helmand Province is to keep control of that provinces’ “green zones”. Afghanistan’s landscape in that area is incredible for a couple of reasons, but one of the main ones that sticks out in my mind is what are now called “green zones”.
You can look across the Afghan desert and see nothing but rocks, sand and mountains providing quite the rustic and inhospitable view. As you drive along, all of a sudden you come to the rim of a bowl… a green bowl, or green zone.
Far different than the “Green Zone” I have visited in Iraq. These green zones are an oasis of life that includes villages, cattle and fields of crops and poppies. Some green zones are small, others, like the Helmand River Valley, are dozens of kilometers across. The point is, beyond these green zones, life is very, very difficult. Control the green zones, you control Helmand.
The siege of Garmser indicates that controlling these green zones is the strategy underway. Strategically, controlling Garmser is the key to cutting the free flow of fighters and weapons into northern Helmand, Oruzgan and beyond. You control Garmser and the Taliban will have a very difficult time reaching these places in numbers, they will no longer have a transportation hub for their drug running and the poppy itself will inevitably have to change as crop of choice.
South of the town, beyond Garmser’s outlying villages (which number more than 100), is nothing but desert, for more than 40km, before running into the Pakistani border, an area known locally in translation as, “The Desert of Death”. To Garmser’s east and west is nothing but hundreds of kilometers of scorching desert. To the north is Nawa-i-Barakzayi, and the Helmand River Valley that snakes it’s way north, nourishing this parched part of the world, that could one day be Afghanistan’s bread basket. You hold Garmser, you hold Helmand.
The Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which has done the bulk of the fighting for Garmser, will not be staying too much longer. Regardless, by October, this surge force will be gone and. so far, not replaced from the outside. If there is a move to increase forces to replace the Marines, it would have to be in the form of at least two battalions, something that has yet to be announced.
What has been announced is a number of strategic moves from inside Afghanistan that may alleviate some of the concern about the 24th MEU leaving a security void once their mission here is over.
101st Airborne Heading South?
In April, the 101st Airborne Division’s Task Force Gladiator took control of Parwan and Kapisa Provinces (just north and south of Kabul) where 82nd Airborne paratroopers spent 15 months training Afghan Security Forces and building a law enforcement infrastructure. The provinces are largely quiet, with the exception of the Tag Ab Valley in Kapisa. That area has long been an area that is filled with HiG fighters and sympathizers of the Taliban regime. The Afghan National Army also increased its presence here in 2007 from a battalion to a brigade.
Earleir this month France announced it would be sending a battalion of troops to the Kapisa area, particularly Tag Ab, which would free up the US paratroopers who could be shifted south. The paratroopers would be a perfect replacement for Second Battalion, Seventh Marines who are training Afghan Security Forces in Helmand and Farah Provinces. Keep in mind that the mission of 2/7 is district-by-district and meant to be mobile over time, so whoever replaces the task of 2/7, will not be in the same districts that 2/7 operated in.
France also plans to send Embedded Training Teams to central Afghanistan’s Oruzgan Province, where primarily Dutch and Australian forces operate. France also maintains six fighters in Kandahar and roughly 1,700 troops stationed in Kabul.
Italians Moving South and East?
The Italians may prove to be the most effective force to help stabilize the area. In late May, the Italian government announced it would reduce its force in Kabul by up to 300, but also make it’s 2,400 strong mission, based in Herat, more “flexible”.
Their plan is to be able to respond to NATO requests within six-hours versus the current 72 hour standard. While the Italians say they have no plans to move their permenant base from Herat, the ability of Italian forces to go mobile in an offensive manner, opens great possibilities for taking over the role of the 24th MEU.
How Big Will Australia Go?
In Early June, Austrailian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon called on the coalition to come up with 10,000 more soldiers for Afghanistan, at the same time saying his country would not send any more troops. As the largest non-Nato contributer, Australia has 1,000 troops in Oruzgan.
While Australia has troops abroad in various peacekeeping missions in their area of the world, 550 Autrailians were just pulled from Iraq, a force that could make a difference in one of Helmand’s “green zones”.
40,000 Yanks and Counting
In May, President Bush opened the door for an additional 7,000 troops (two Brigade Combat Teams) to be added to the coalition, taking US troop levels to 40,000. While the decision is not set, the order will almost certainly be signed as the last of five “surge” troops, from Iraq, will have made their way home by July, 2008. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates publicly said in May that the US was prepared to boost its force in 2009, but did not get into numbers.
Don’t Count out the Afghans
One of the most important keys to success for the establishment of government authority across southern Afghanistan is a successful police force, a force which bears the brunt of the violence. Nearly 1000 Afghan cops died in 2007.
In the past two years, since the Americans took over the training from the Germans in 2005, the Americans have pumped more than 2.5 billion dollars into new training strategies.
The Focused District Development (FDD) program is a new approach to the training that is hoped will root out the excessive corruption, lack of credibility and brutality the Afghan Security Forces (usually just local militia guys) have exhibited in the past. Unlike the past, the US is focused on individual districts for specialized training, especially districts known for warlordism and corruption.
In a nutshell, the coalition will sustain security in a particular district while the local police get shipped off to an eight-week boot camp. Once the police unit is trained, a coalition (usually American) Police Mentoring Teams (PMT), works with and mentors the unit in the field.
As the program develops, the Americans are using specially trained Afghans who go through 16-weeks of specialized schooling known as Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP). This force will eventually be used by the coalition to take over police duties in districts in which FDD is targetting, until local police can get trained and in place.
The idea is to have the ANCOPs set the example of what the Afghan people should expect once their local police return from training. The hope is that this example, and the American mentors, will help show the Afghan police the proper way to interact with the public (and respond to threats) in a manner that will build the trust neccesary to have successful police force.
Afterall, Afghanistan cannot succeed as a country unless its people have security, whether the world is there to help them or not.
Push to Find Bin Laden, Mehsud
Jun 15 at 2:02pm by David
The premier American commando unit, Delta Force, is teaming up with Britian’s Special Boat Service (SBS) which has resulted in an escalation in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
An unnamed source within British special forces claims the regular forays into Pakistan are “completely sanctioned” by the Pakistani government.
The report claims US and British ground forces, backed up by unmanned drones and the Pakistani army, are operating within Pakistan in a renewed effort to flush bin Laden toward US troops who are massing on the border.
Evidence of increased activity occured in South Waziristan on June 14th, when for the fifth time this year, apparent US missile strikes rocked the area, killing at least one. Reports say Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud was targetted.
Just last month, an unnamed Afghan intelligence officer told AFP that the Afghans had very recently received credible news that bin Laden is in the area of Chitral, Pakistan, as recently as April. Chitral has long been thought the area where the Al Qaeda leader is hiding.
This news comes at the same time Afghan President Hamid Karzai is threatening to send troops into the same region of Pakistan. Karzai has long blamed much of his country’s problems on Pakistan’s inability, or lack of desire, at reigning in the terrorists conducting cross border attacks.
Updated June 15 at 1750 EST.
Task Force 2/7 Under Fire
Jun 14 at 4:04pm by David
Four US Marines were killed in action in the southwestern part of Afghanistan June 14th where they’ve been training Afghan National Police forces since late March. The Marines died when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in Farah Province. A fifth Marine was seriously injured in the attack. That brings the number of Marines killed during this springs’ “surge” to seven.
While Task Force 2/7 came to Afghanistan with the 2,200 Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), their mission is completely different from that of the MEU.
“Our Mission is to provide security for the ANP mentors and assist in training the ANP in order to extend Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) authority and influence over security, stability and regional development.” Lt. Col. Richard Hall told me in an email interview. ”My Marines are in contact everyday, in every district”.
2/7’s current area of operations includes 11 districts across two provinces, but will focus their training efforts in eight of those districts. Currently, 2/7 is operating in Sangin, Musa Qala, Nahr-e-Saraj (Gereshk), Now Zad, and Washir districts in Helmand province as well as Deleram, Golestan, Bala Baluk, Bakwa and Farah districts in Farah Province. The entire area of operations is 400 km by 240 km.
The Marines have been broken down into platoon-sized elements and are assigned to various district centers where they mentor and train a force of primarily Afghan National Police. While 2/7 is attached to Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, they are also part of Task Force Phoenix, which makes the Marine battalion the first unit of this size to be dedicated to the training of Afghan Security Forces.
Beyond that, 2/7 is also working toward the integration of civil affairs projects that coincide with their security efforts.
“We focus heavily on civil military projects tying in and synchronizing our efforts with all elements of the civilian leadership.”
Also by email, Master Sergeant Marlon Martin adds, “The task force’s mission, however, is not to drive out the Taliban. Its mission is the people. The commander (Lt. Col. Hall) is intensely focused on this mission.”
The battalion, now headquartered at Camp Barber, is within the confines of the sprawling British base, Camp Bastion, northwest of Helmand’s provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.
Focused District Development Plan (FDD)
While there are many reasons that have contributed to the shortcomings in Afghanistan, one that ranks at the top is the failure to adequately train and implement Afghan police forces. This task was originally given to the Germans, then taken over by the Americans in 2006.
Beginning in October, 2007, the United States began a new program called Focused District Development, which not only began pumping more funding into the police forces, but training teams, similar to the Embedded Training Team (ETT) concept were now being used with police forces.
The goal for the program is to focus on 52 of the country’s districts by the end of 2008, with all of Afghanistan’s remaining 313 districts to follow suit by 2012.
“We see FDD as really the first step in breaking the cycle of corruption that really is a challenge here in Afghanistan,” said Army Colonel Michael McMahon, the director of force integration and training for Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, which oversees Afghan security forces development.
A sentiment echoed by Lt. Col. Hall. “We (US and Afghan leadership) jointly understand as being underpinned by a legitimate and capable law enforcement capacity that becomes the first, and perhaps the only, form of legitimate government local people will ever come to know. They understand this, not so much from an idealistic view but certainly from a pragmatic perspective. They both understand force, but it is inculcating character and teaching the legitimate or restrained use of force that becomes the challenge, in both theaters. Teaching them to do the right thing even when no one is looking.”
It’s a challenge the Marines successfully met just last year in Anbar Province, Iraq. Now, less than a year later, 2/7 is doing it all over again, this time as the tip of the spear for a program in it’s own fledgling state, even if almost seven years into coalition intervention.
“Creating a credible, respectable, competent police force is challenging in any theater, especially when you do not always have all the resources up front to get you started, or the processes in place for sustainment.” Hall said. “But there is certainly enough to get the job done.”
The above image was provided by 2/7 Marines.
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