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| Afghanistan |
| NATO Launches Winter Offensive |
| 2007-03-06 |
| KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO-led troops launched an offensive against Taliban militants Tuesday in a volatile southern Afghan province where hundreds of militant fighters have amassed. The operation, which will eventually involve 4,500 NATO troops and 1,000 Afghan soldiers, was launched at the request of the Afghan government and will focus on the northern region of Helmand province, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. "Our first maneuver elements reached their positions at approximately 5 a.m. this morning," said Maj. Gen. Ton van Loon, ISAF's southern commander. Dubbed Operation Achilles, the offensive is NATO's largest-ever in the country. But it will involve only half the number of soldiers who fought in a U.S. offensive in the same region just nine months ago, when some 11,000 U.S.-led troops attacked fighters in northern Helmand province during Operation Mountain Thrust. NATO said that Achilles initially would focus on improving security conditions, but that its "overarching purpose is to assist the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (to) improve its ability to begin reconstruction and economic development." The government has little control over many parts of northern Helmand, and the British troops stationed there fight almost-daily battles with militants. U.S. intelligence officials say Taliban fighters have flooded into Helmand the last several months, and that there are now more fighters there than any other part of the country. The militants overran Musa Qala, in central Helmand province, on Feb. 1 after defying a peace deal between the government and elders reached last fall that capped weeks of fighting. The Taliban still control the town more than a month after the initial attack. British troops also have been battling militants in the nearby district of Kajaki, in northern Helmand, to enable repair work on a hydroelectric dam there, which supplies close to 2 million Afghans with electricity. "Strategically, our goal is to enable the Afghan government to begin the Kajaki project," van Loon, said. "This long-term initiative is a huge undertaking and the eventual rehabilitation of the Kajaki multipurpose dam and power house will improve the water supply for local communities, rehabilitate irrigation systems for farmlands and provide sufficient electrical power for residents, industries and commerce," he said. Helmand is the world's biggest producer of opium, and a new U.N. drug assessment indicates that the this year's poppy harvest could be higher than last year's record output. The U.N. says Taliban fighters protect poppy farmers and tax the crop, deriving much-needed income for their insurgency. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #5 NATO Launches Dreaded™ Winter Offensive |
| Posted by: RD 2007-03-06 23:14 |
| #4 Ship - you somehow failed to mention that U.S. commanders have had the advantage of reading Japanese naval communications since breaking their codes a few months ago. No J-school diploma for you! |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2007-03-06 23:13 |
| #3 Nice one Ship. Is this the dreaded Afghan winter offensive we've been hearing about? Oh, sorry, that'd be the Talibunnies... |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2007-03-06 18:41 |
| #2 Pesky bloody japs. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2007-03-06 14:22 |
| #1 The US counter offensive against the IJN continues today with 3 fleet carriers concentrating to the north of Midway in an effort to fool the IJN forces. The Yorktown just out of an emergency 48 hour maintenance period is certain to be a target. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-03-06 13:13 |