We CAN NOT "Muddle Through it in Afghanistan"
by: Ironside

McCain is WRONG! We can NOT "muddle through it in Afghanistan"! And all he can talk about is how he "got it right with the surge" in Iraq and because of that he "knows how to win wars." WHAT A CROCK! The Bush Administration, with John McCain's support, has taken it's eye off the eight ball for a "surge" in Iraq. I wonder how many American soldiers died in Afghanistan because of that blunder! Exactly what makes John McCain think he can claim that he "knows how to win wars"? What war has he won? He set a Naval Academy record by crashing 5 planes during training. He graduated at 894 in a class of 899. As a military veteran I respect John McCain's service in Vietnam, but being a POW does not prepare him to be president. General Wesley Clark was correct about that. Supporting a surge in Iraq while ignoring the effort in Afghanistan does not articulate into knowing how to win wars. John McCain has shown confusion with understanding the difference between Sunni and Shiites when he claimed Iran was training al Qaeda. Iran is mostly Shiite and al Qaeda is Sunni.

John McCain - November 5, 2003

Deaths make 2008 deadliest for US in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - Insurgents killed two U.S. troops in Afghanistan on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks Thursday, making 2008 the deadliest year for American forces since U.S. troops invaded the country in 2001 for sheltering Osama bin Laden.

The deaths brought the number of troops who have died in Afghanistan this year to 113, according to an Associated Press tally, surpassing last year's record toll of 111.

Afghanistan was the launching pad for al-Qaida's terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. U.S. forces invaded in October 2001 in response and quickly drove the Taliban out of power.

Across Afghanistan, U.S. troops paused in silence Thursday to commemorate the 9/11 attacks. At a U.S. base in Kabul, members of the New York National Guard, many of whom served at the site of the World Trade Center after the towers came down, remembered the attack on their home state.

"For those of us who were there, served at Ground Zero, 9/11 is deeply personal," said Col. Brian K. Bale, the commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Maj. Stephen Bousquet, 34, of Buffalo, N.Y., provided security at Ground Zero for three weeks after the attack. He now trains and mentors Afghan police, he said, "so American and coalition forces can leave one day."

Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaida network, is believed to be in the lawless tribal belt on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He had been sheltered by Taliban leader Mullah Omar before 9/11.

Taliban fighters folded in easy defeat in fall 2001 in what at first appeared to be a resounding U.S. victory. But militants that U.S. commanders once derided as ragtag amateurs have transformed into a fighting force advanced enough to mount massive conventional attacks. Suicide and roadside bombs have turned bigger and deadlier than ever.

The number of Arab, Chechen and Uzbek militants flowing into the Afghan-Pakistan region has increased this year, bringing with them command expertise the Taliban lacked.

U.S. death tolls have climbed sharply from the first years of the war. Only five American service members died in 2001. Thirty service members died in both 2002 and 2003; the toll climbed to 49 in 2004, then 93 in 2005 and 88 in 2006.

Last year 111 troops died, including one killed by a sniper while meeting with Pakistani officers in Pakistan. That mark was surpassed Thursday — with more than three months left in the year — reflecting both the increased number of American troops deployed to Afghanistan as well as the insurgency's increasing potency.

Top U.S. generals, European leaders and analysts say the blame lies to the east, in militant sanctuaries in neighboring Pakistan. As long as those areas remain havens where fighters arm, train, recruit and plot increasingly sophisticated ambushes, the Afghan war will continue to sour.

"What you have is a broad expansion on the front, and because of this you have expansion in areas of the Taliban. Even in areas where there is no substantial fighting, the presence of insurgents has increased," said Anthony Cordesman, a security expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"You have less cooperation from Pakistan, and there's political disarray," which creates a situation where there is little security and stability, Cordesman said. "You also have a weak government that is incapable of maintaining a significant presence in high threat areas."

Since the 2001 invasion, a total of 519 U.S. troops have died in the Afghan war, including those killed in border areas of Pakistan and in Uzbekistan, which was a staging area in 2001. An additional 65 more have died outside the Afghan region in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the Defense Department.

The Pentagon says 117 U.S. service members died last year in Operation Enduring Freedom, but that includes six deaths outside the Afghan region: two in the Philippines, two in Ethiopia, one in Somalia and one in the Gulf.

The NATO-led force in Afghanistan said one soldier was killed Thursday in the east when insurgents attacked a compound. The separate U.S.-led coalition said a second service member died while conducting combat operations. No other details were released, but a Western military official told The Associated Press that both troops were American.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense, noted the militants aren't just targeting U.S. forces. He said Afghan soldiers and police have also suffered a record number of casualties over the past year. Figures weren't immediately available.

President Bush announced this week that he was sending an Army brigade and a Marine battalion to Afghanistan in November to replace two that are scheduled to leave.

Some 33,000 U.S. troops are now stationed in the country, the highest level since 2001. Overall, more than 65,000 troops from 40 nations are deployed in Afghanistan.

U.S. commanders in Afghanistan say they need another 10,000 troops — even more than the deployment plan Bush announced. The commanders also urge more nonmilitary aid and say the Afghan government must perform better.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee this week that, "I'm not convinced we're winning in Afghanistan. I'm convinced we can."

Source - Yahoo News

 

Afghanistan Violence Rises, Weakening Karzai Government
May 29, 2008

Taliban attacks are up, making this the worst season since the insurgency began and spurring greater Western troop deployments.

Violence in Afghanistan is increasing, according to recent announcements by senior US and NATO officials. Analysts estimate that this has been the bloodiest spring since the start of the insurgency and that the increasing instability is fueling the call to deploy more troops to the region.

Across the country this week, violence flared. Suicide bombers attacked international soldiers in Kabul today, reports the Associated Press.

The attack targeted two armored SUVs, causing minor damage to the vehicles. None of the soldiers inside the vehicles was wounded or killed, said Lt. Col. David Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition. He did not immediately know the nationalities of the troops.

U.S. troops from a base on the outskirts of Kabul cordoned off the area shortly after the attack.

The blast killed three Afghans and wounded four, said Mohammad Aslam, a police officer at the scene. Small shops line the road, and pedestrians frequently walk alongside the busy route.

On Tuesday at least 24 people were killed in different attacks across the country. The global financial news agency RTT reports that a bomb blast killed eight civilians traveling on a bus in western Afghanistan and a bomb killed three children in Kandahar Province.

...US-led forces in the southern province of Helmand claimed to have killed several militants during an operation in Garmser district on Tuesday.

The U.S.-led coalition also said that "several militants were killed and nine were detained" on Tuesday in an operation targeting "anti-government operations" in the eastern province of Paktia.

More than 1,200 people have been killed this year, the Associated Press estimates. NATO officials claim that the surge in violence is related in part to the recent peace deals between the Pakistani government and the rebels in that country, which allow for a haven for Taliban fighters who cross the border to launch attacks in Afghanistan.

NATO spokesman Mark Laity said militant violence in Afghanistan seems to be getting worse as Pakistan pursues peace with militants in an effort to end a wave of bombings that have killed hundreds of Pakistanis in recent years.

"We understand their desire to come to peace agreements with militants, but there is no real solution if trouble on one side of the (border) is merely transferred to the other side," he said.

Even before the recent settlements, The Christian Science Monitor reported in April that violence had spiked across the country, suggesting that additional factors are contributing to the increase.

In some northern provinces, the Taliban issue "night letters," documents posted to villagers' doors at night threatening them if they support the government or Coalition forces, locals report. The tactic has been highly successful in intimidating residents in the south and quelling support for the international presence.

But analysts say the insurgency is spread not by fear alone: A weak central government and the country's declining socioeconomic situation also bolster militants' efforts. "The population of Afghanistan is becoming disillusioned with the government," Halim Kousary, an analyst with Center for Conflict and Peace Studies, a Kabul-based think tank. "People in the north believe there hasn't been enough reconstruction."

The Long War Journal, an Internet journal covering the "Global War on Terror," suggests:

[The] attacks by the Taliban and "Anti-Government Elements" ... have increased over the past several weeks as the poppy harvest season has ended. The Taliban now has a pool of unemployed harvesters to serve as recruits.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, who echoed NATO's assessment of rising violence levels in a testimony to Congress on Tuesday, says that the US will respond by increasing troop strength, the Associated Press reported.

Mullen said the U.S. is deploying more troops to Afghanistan and encouraging local forces to do the same to contend with a growing insurgency, increased attacks and a burgeoning drug trade.

"In short, a stable Iraq and Afghanistan that are long-term partners and share our commitment to peace will be critical to achieving regional stability and security," he said.

The increased coalition presence might have to deal with an insurgency that is evolving tactically, writes The Daily Telegraph. The British paper reports that the Taliban is turning toward "Iraq-style tactics" – attacking soft targets and acting as a de facto authority in areas of weak central governance – to take the districts surrounding Kabul.

Taliban tactics have shifted sharply away from frontal attacks on Nato forces in the first four months of the year. However, the overall level of violence has risen and roadside bombings are up by 34 per cent overall. At the same time, there have been reports of Taliban fighters moving into several rural districts north and east of Kabul, the capital.

The strategy seeks to exploit local grievances and disillusionment with the Afghan government in rural areas.

The paper reports that the Taliban is seen by many in the districts surrounding the capital as a "credible alternative to the weak US-backed government."

...according to [a] local MP, who stays mostly in Kabul these days, the population has lost faith in the government.

"President [Hamid] Karzai got 40,000 votes from Kapisa Province, but now he wouldn't get five," said Abdul Hadi Safi.

Source - Christian Science Monitor

 

Pentagon Report Anticipates Rising Violence in Afghanistan
June 28, 2008

Violence in Afghanistan will continue to rise this year, as Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters have proved resilient and aggressive foes against coalition forces, according to a new Pentagon report issued to Congress yesterday.

Citing a weak Afghan government, struggling economy, massive increases in illegal narcotics production, corruption, growing attacks by insurgents and an increase in civilian casualties, U.S. defense officials said incremental progress in Afghanistan contrasts with significant challenges ahead. The 72-page report, which reviews the war from 2001 through April 10, 2008, offers a bleak assessment of a conflict that commanders think requires more resources and attention.

"Despite many positive developments, Afghanistan continues to face challenges," the report said. "The Taliban regrouped after its fall from power and have coalesced into a resilient insurgency. It now poses a challenge to the Afghan government's authority in some rural areas. . . . The Taliban is likely to maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008."

But the report makes clear that the Taliban is not the only concern for U.S. officials, and predicts the possibility of "two distinct insurgencies" emerging in Afghanistan this year, one dominated by the Taliban in the south and a "more complex, adaptive insurgency" in the east, where extremists affiliated with several groups have increased their efforts against U.S. troops and other coalition partners.

Both groups have been cooperating against coalition forces, defense officials told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday. The increase of U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year and the increased deployment of fledgling Afghan troops have led to battles with enemy fighters in areas where the insurgents had not been challenged before, officials said, leading insurgents to change tactics and, in some cases, become deadlier.

"The success of Afghan and international forces in military engagements has led insurgents to increase asymmetric attacks," the report said. "As such, [improvised explosive device] attacks are on the rise. IED incidents reached a high of 2,615 incidents in 2007, up from 1,931 in 2006."

A senior defense official said that such attacks increased more than 40 percent in the eastern part of the country during the first half of this year, compared with the first half of 2007.

Attacks in Afghanistan have shown a dramatic upturn in recent weeks, appearing to validate the findings in the report, the first of its kind regarding the country. The Pentagon is required by law to provide Congress with such an assessment every six months; the period covered by the next report ends in October.

Yesterday's assessment indicated that the greatest challenge to long-term security in Afghanistan is the insurgent sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal areas along the 1,500-mile-long border with Afghanistan. U.S. officials think that the tribal areas are fueling cross-border insurgent attacks and that Pakistan's cease-fire agreements with some groups in those areas are worsening security conditions.

The development of Afghanistan's security forces, particularly the Afghan police, has also faced serious challenges. Officials said the Afghan National Army is showing improvement, but only one of 85 Afghan army battalions is capable of operating independently, while 26 are capable of planning, executing and sustaining counterinsurgency operations with international support.

Narcotics, particularly illicit opium production, remain a major source of income for the Taliban, the report said. Afghanistan remains the leading producer of opium in the world, and Helmand province, where most attacks in Afghanistan occur, produces more than half of Afghanistan's opium crop.

Source - Washington Post

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