The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread November 2008

[MarkOttawa]

ARTICLE FOUND NOV. 25

Fast-melting Arctic ice, Afghan security greatest challenges for Forces: top soldier
Defence chief Gen. Natynczyk tells it like it is
Canwest News, Nov. 25
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=a308c9a3-09f1-4400-b7b7-66fc6fb248a5

...in windblown and landlocked Afghanistan, Canada and its military allies are dusting themselves off from a summer of stepped-up Taliban attacks, including the recent acid assault on schoolgirls and a prison break in Kandahar, and the unprecedented targeting of Kabul's only luxury hotel and the Indian Embassy there.

"Security has not improved, ladies and gentlemen, as the insurgents operated from sanctuaries along the Pakistan border and the attacks this summer became more sophisticated," Gen. Natynczyk told a military, business and diplomatic audience [at a Canadian Club luncheon].

"Quite simply, there aren't enough troops to secure the entire country," he added.

"The upcoming surge by the U.S. forces is essential to expand the security area, to hold the ground, to enable the Afghans to vote next fall."..

He also acknowledged the high cost of the mission, which the parliamentary budget officer recently projected as $18.1 billion by 2011.

"Most of these costs occurred because we allowed the Forces' capability to erode," said Gen. Natynczyk, who added that the infusions in recent years of billions of dollars to the defence budget have provided the equipment needed to protect Canadian soldiers and Afghans.

Federal spending estimates released yesterday
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20072008/sups/A/pub/ME-202_e.asp#page_202
showed that the incremental costs of the Afghanistan mission overshot projections by $331.1 million to hit a total of $848.6 million for 2008-09 to cover equipment, ammunition, repair and overhaul, immediate care, and engineering support.

Canadian soldiers, along with diplomats and aid workers, are racing to train enough Afghan police and army officers "despite the deterioration in the security situation" before the country withdraws its 2,500 troops in 2011 as scheduled.

"We're planning on this exit strategy with our NATO allies to ensure a seamless transfer of security responsibilities to other contingents [emphasis added]," he said, but refused to speculate afterward whether other NATO countries not serving in Afghanistan's troubled south would have to contribute troops.

He said "three years is a long time" for Canada to achieve its goals of training enough Afghan security forces to assume responsibility for their own people...

U.S. to Boost Presence Near Kabul
Hundreds of Troops Destined for Afghan Provinces With Few Western Forces, Top Army Official Says
Washington Post, Nov. 25
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/24/AR2008112402587.html

As the United States and NATO attempt to stamp out an increasingly potent insurgency on the doorstep of the Afghan capital, the senior U.S. Army commander in eastern Afghanistan said he plans to send hundreds of troops to two volatile provinces immediately south of Kabul that have traditionally lacked Western forces.

Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, said in an interview this week that a portion of the estimated 3,500 additional U.S. troops expected to arrive in Afghanistan in January will be deployed to Logar and Wardak provinces. Neither has been a major center of U.S. or NATO military activity, even though both provinces are directly adjacent to Kabul and are home to critical transit routes. Schloesser, who spoke at his headquarters at Bagram air base, said he anticipates a rise in clashes with rebel Afghan fighters in Logar and Wardak.

"I would expect from this winter on an increase in violence south of Kabul caused by us, caused by us and the Afghans working together," Schloesser said. "Then, over a period of several months, as we are more successful in separating the enemy from the people and consolidating gains, the violence will come down."..

Marines’ heroic actions at Shewan leave more than 50 insurgents dead, several wounded
News, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, Nov. 16
http://www.marines.mil/units/marforpac/imef/1stmardiv/7thregiment/2ndbat/Pages/Marines%E2%80%99heroicactionsatShewanleavemorethan50insurgentsdead,severalwounded.aspx

FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan  —In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it.

Shewan has historically been a safe haven for insurgents, who used to plan and stage attacks against Coalition Forces in the Bala Baluk district.

The city is home to several major insurgent leaders.  Reports indicate that more than 250 full time fighters reside in the city and in the surrounding villages.

Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines’ deployment here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, because it controls an important supply route into the Bala Baluk district. Opening the route was key to continuing combat operations in the area.

“The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat,” said a designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified. “Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our ‘humvees’ was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast.”

The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades.  After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.

“The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they’re given the opportunity to fight,” the sniper said. “A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong.”..

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GAP]

Articles found November 26, 2008

Afghan president wants date for pullout of foreign troops
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 CBC News
Article Link

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is calling for the international community to set a timeline for the withdrawal of troops from the war-torn country.

Speaking to a United Nations Security Council delegation on Tuesday, Karzai said that if no deadline is set, Afghanistan has the right to negotiate an end date for the presence of coalition forces.

"If there is no deadline, we have the right to find another solution for peace and security, which is negotiations," Karzai was quoted as saying in a statement from his office.

He told the delegation that aerial bombings by international military forces and searches of Afghan homes must come to an end.

Karzai has repeatedly asked for Western troops to cut back on civilian deaths, which erode support for the foreign military presence.

Canada is part of a multi-national NATO-led force, a coalition that has about 50,000 troops in Afghanistan. About 2,500 Canadian soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan, primarily in the southern province of Kandahar.

The Afghan president also said not enough attention has been paid to militant bases outside Afghanistan, a likely reference to the volatile tribal areas in neighbouring Pakistan.

In the past, Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of harbouring Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. The U.S. has launched a number of missile attacks in the border region of the two countries in recent weeks.
More on link

Special Forces hone skills, teamwork in Nevada
By KEVIN MAURER – 18 hours ago
Article Link

HAWTHORNE ARMY DEPOT, Nev. (AP) — The roadside explosion wasn't real. Neither was the shrapnel that "shredded" the driver's chest and leg, nor the blood that flowed from his "wounds."

But the pressure on rookie Special Forces medic Sgt. Nick Capuano was brutal.

No one would die if Capuano failed to keep the driver "alive," and the 27-year-old had run similar drills dozens of times during his Special Forces qualification course. But this time, there were no instructors watching as Capuano diagnosed the compound fracture to the driver's left leg and started to treat the shrapnel wound to the chest.

This time, it was Capuano's Special Forces teammates — the soldiers who will count on the young medic to save their lives if a real roadside bomb hits during their upcoming tour in Afghanistan — watching his reactions. Failure meant losing the faith of his teammates before leaving for his first mission as a Green Beret.

"It was important for me to show our teammates Nick in a stressful situation," said Sgt. 1st Class Joe Healey, a veteran Special Forces medic.

"I wanted the team to see him work before we went to ensure that the same quality is coming through. You don't really want to show up in Afghanistan and have to learn about your guys."
More on link

Karzai says US, NATO created 'parallel' government
By FISNIK ABRASHI – 3 hours ago
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — President Hamid Karzai criticized the U.S. and other foreign countries for creating a "parallel government" in the countryside during a blunt overview of Afghanistan's problems before a U.N. Security Council delegation.

Karzai called Tuesday for the international community to set a timeline to end the war in Afghanistan and asked why — given the number of countries involved and the amount of money spent — the Taliban remains so powerful.

"This war has gone on for seven years, the Afghans don't understand anymore, how come a little force like the Taliban can continue to exist, can continue to flourish, can continue to launch attacks," he asked.

With an entire NATO force in Afghanistan and the entire international community behind them, "still we are not able to defeat the Taliban," Karzai told the gathering at his presidential palace.

Karzai — facing re-election next year and making increasing overtures to conservative Afghan tribes most likely to vote for him — has been criticized for being ineffective and weak, while his government was accused of deep-seated corruption.

The president's Tuesday comments appear to be a response to that criticism and lay the blame for the deteriorating security situation and other woes on the international community.
More on link

 

[karl28]

    Mods I am not sure if this is the right place but seems like it . IT's an article link from CTV about the Government sending armed Griffins to Afghanistan for escorting the Chinooks 


http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081126/afghan_helicopters_081126/20081126?hub=Canada

 

[GAP]

Articles found November 27, 2008

Rocket hits NATO truck depot in Pakistan
By RIAZ KHAN – 20 hours ago
Article Link

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected militants fired a rocket Wednesday that hit a terminal for trucks carrying supplies to NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan, underscoring the insurgents increasing hold over parts of northwest Pakistan.

The rocket was one of two fired late in the day in the region's capital, Peshawar, said police officer Abdul Qadirwhich. The city, which sits along the supply route from Pakistan to Afghanistan, has seen an upsurge in violence in recent weeks, including the slaying of an American working on a U.S-funded aid project.

Neither of the rockets caused serious damage or any injuries, he said.

Qadir said officers were not sure whether the truck terminal was the target of the attack. The rockets are normally fired into the city from hills on its outskirts some 10 kilometers (7 miles) away.

Up to 75 percent of the supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan pass through Pakistan. Peshawar is a key stop for convoys en route to the Khyber Pass and on to Western Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, suspected Taliban militants hijacked several trucks near the Khyber Pass whose load included Humvees heading to the U.S.-led coalition. Pakistan halted traffic along the road for several days while it arranged for armed troops to guard the slow-moving convoys.
More on link

Afghan car bomb kills four near U.S. Embassy
By Laura King 1:28 AM PST, November 27, 2008
Article Link

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan --- A suicide car bomber set off a powerful blast Thursday near the gates of the U.S. Embassy, killing at least four Afghan civilians and injuring more than a dozen others.

Weaving in and out of morning rush-hour traffic near one of Kabul's busiest traffic circles, the bomber's Toyota Corolla struck several other cars before exploding, witnesses said.


It was not clear whether the bomber was attempting to strike at a NATO convoy in the area, or trying to get close to one of the embassy's heavily fortified entrances, the nearest of which was about 200 yards away, or intended to simply wreak havoc in a crowded commercial area.

No one inside the embassy compound was hurt, and all personnel were accounted for, said spokesman Mark Stroh. Most embassy workers were off for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The blast, shortly after 8:30 a.m., shattered windows in a nearby apartment building and reduced the car to a charred wreck. For a time the bomber's mangled body lay uncovered in the street.


Afterward, workers in orange jumpsuits swept up broken glass and metal shards while little boys skipped and hopped through a large black scorch mark on the sidewalk.

"I was across the street when I heard a huge blast, and smoke filled the sky," said Basir Ahmed, a passer-by. "I ran to help the injured."

Another bystander, Ahmed Khalid, said he saw the car moving erratically in heavy traffic just before the blast. "It crashed into one car and then another, and then came the big explosion," he said.
More on link

 

[MarkOttawa]

Afghanistan and intl security trends
Conference of Defence Associations media round-up, Nov. 27
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1227815229

Mark
Ottawa