- Reaction score
- 64
- Points
- 530
Americans Preparing to Take Control of Kandahar
http://www.battlefieldtourist.com/content/2008/12/26/americans-preparing-to-take-control-of-kandahar/
“We will see more US forces and more US investment in southern Afghanistan which will be a game changer.”- Gen. John Nicholson to NBC News from Kandahar, December 2008.
According to Reuters, on December 11 at Kandahar Airfield, Secretary of Defense Robert told US troops during a “town hall” meeting that he hoped the increase in troop strength would be in place by late spring. The man in charge of this American escalation in the region is Brigadier General John Nicholson. The new position is called Deputy Commanding General for Stability of Regional Command South.
“We are now going to be able to secure the vast majority of the population in the south and deliver the basic services through the government that they were unable to do this point.” Nicholson recently told NBC at Kandahar Airfield.
This all but seals the long expected deal that the United States would eventually take over Kandahar’s security, which the Canadians assumed from the US in February 2006 after a long mission in Kabul early in the war. It also takes the Americans a step closer to assuming responsibility over Regional Command South as the US is also looking to greatly boost troop levels in Helmand and Farah Provinces as well (an idea that is causing quite a stir in Great Britain).
With Canada set to leave in 2011, the Canadians appear to be heading toward a diminished role as that date moves closer. That role would primarily involve support and humanitarian efforts which could evolve into a precursor for a new mandate that will see Canadian troops remain in Afghanistan beyond the current withdrawl date.
Unifier or Divider?
Nicholson is no stranger to Afghanistan. He led 10th Mountain troops as commanding officer of Task Force Spartan and is considered an expert in counterinsurgency. However that past may prove to be an issue as Nicholson’s area of operations will see his army units mixing regularly with US Marine units, who have a recent bad history with Nicholson.
Nicholson upset the Marines command when he publicly called out a Marines Corps Special Operations company following a use of force that killed as many as 19 civilians and wounding dozens during a ten-mile path of gunfire. The event, which happened on March 4, 2007, stained the inaugural deployment for the brand new special ops unit that was highly regarded leading up to that point.
Nicholson ran into problems for going public with his opinion before the full report was concluded saying in May 2007:
“I stand before you today, deeply, deeply ashamed and terribly sorry that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people. We are filled with grief and sadness at the death of any Afghan, but the death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor and on the memory of the many Americans who have died defending Afghanistan and Afghan people.”
During the debacle, allegations of inter service rivalry constantly crept up as the incident became an international rally point for those that claim US action in Afghanistan is excessive in its use of force, especially in regards to Afghan civilians.
Initial Goals
According to The Economist, the new strategy taking form in Afghanistan will focus on securing Highway One, which is also called the “Ring Road”, as it connects all of Afghanistan’s major cities to one another (with a big ring). In Kandahar Province, the highway runs through the disputed district of Arghandab, which lies to Kandahar City’s north and is an area notoriously used as a springboard for the Taliban to launch attacks on Kandahar City itself. Arghandab has been identified as one of the five critical districts in Afghanistan the coalition plans on devoting considerable time and resources to secure and rebuild.
I expect that the first major US-led operation in Kandahar will be gaining full, lasting control of Arghandab, followed by an intensive humanitarian move to help that district’s fertile farmland again become the breadbasket of Kandahar. This will most likely happen within the next month so farmers can be on track for the spring growing season.
Overall, the move would pay big dividends by securing the provinces primary highway, securing and then promoting its primary food-producing region as well as eliminating the primary area from which the Taliban launch attacks on the country’s second largest city.
Current US troops in the province primarily include 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division based in Maiwand, west of Kandahar on the border with Helmand Province. The battalion, in place less than a year, was originally set to deploy farther north in Regional Command East before being diverted. They represent just over 30% of the combined non-Afghan force in the province.
Big changes are coming to Kandahar, changes that must net results in order for the coalition leaders to convince other member nations that their contributions are not futile.
http://www.battlefieldtourist.com/content/2008/12/26/americans-preparing-to-take-control-of-kandahar/
“We will see more US forces and more US investment in southern Afghanistan which will be a game changer.”- Gen. John Nicholson to NBC News from Kandahar, December 2008.
According to Reuters, on December 11 at Kandahar Airfield, Secretary of Defense Robert told US troops during a “town hall” meeting that he hoped the increase in troop strength would be in place by late spring. The man in charge of this American escalation in the region is Brigadier General John Nicholson. The new position is called Deputy Commanding General for Stability of Regional Command South.
“We are now going to be able to secure the vast majority of the population in the south and deliver the basic services through the government that they were unable to do this point.” Nicholson recently told NBC at Kandahar Airfield.
This all but seals the long expected deal that the United States would eventually take over Kandahar’s security, which the Canadians assumed from the US in February 2006 after a long mission in Kabul early in the war. It also takes the Americans a step closer to assuming responsibility over Regional Command South as the US is also looking to greatly boost troop levels in Helmand and Farah Provinces as well (an idea that is causing quite a stir in Great Britain).
With Canada set to leave in 2011, the Canadians appear to be heading toward a diminished role as that date moves closer. That role would primarily involve support and humanitarian efforts which could evolve into a precursor for a new mandate that will see Canadian troops remain in Afghanistan beyond the current withdrawl date.
Unifier or Divider?
Nicholson is no stranger to Afghanistan. He led 10th Mountain troops as commanding officer of Task Force Spartan and is considered an expert in counterinsurgency. However that past may prove to be an issue as Nicholson’s area of operations will see his army units mixing regularly with US Marine units, who have a recent bad history with Nicholson.
Nicholson upset the Marines command when he publicly called out a Marines Corps Special Operations company following a use of force that killed as many as 19 civilians and wounding dozens during a ten-mile path of gunfire. The event, which happened on March 4, 2007, stained the inaugural deployment for the brand new special ops unit that was highly regarded leading up to that point.
Nicholson ran into problems for going public with his opinion before the full report was concluded saying in May 2007:
“I stand before you today, deeply, deeply ashamed and terribly sorry that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people. We are filled with grief and sadness at the death of any Afghan, but the death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor and on the memory of the many Americans who have died defending Afghanistan and Afghan people.”
During the debacle, allegations of inter service rivalry constantly crept up as the incident became an international rally point for those that claim US action in Afghanistan is excessive in its use of force, especially in regards to Afghan civilians.
Initial Goals
According to The Economist, the new strategy taking form in Afghanistan will focus on securing Highway One, which is also called the “Ring Road”, as it connects all of Afghanistan’s major cities to one another (with a big ring). In Kandahar Province, the highway runs through the disputed district of Arghandab, which lies to Kandahar City’s north and is an area notoriously used as a springboard for the Taliban to launch attacks on Kandahar City itself. Arghandab has been identified as one of the five critical districts in Afghanistan the coalition plans on devoting considerable time and resources to secure and rebuild.
I expect that the first major US-led operation in Kandahar will be gaining full, lasting control of Arghandab, followed by an intensive humanitarian move to help that district’s fertile farmland again become the breadbasket of Kandahar. This will most likely happen within the next month so farmers can be on track for the spring growing season.
Overall, the move would pay big dividends by securing the provinces primary highway, securing and then promoting its primary food-producing region as well as eliminating the primary area from which the Taliban launch attacks on the country’s second largest city.
Current US troops in the province primarily include 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division based in Maiwand, west of Kandahar on the border with Helmand Province. The battalion, in place less than a year, was originally set to deploy farther north in Regional Command East before being diverted. They represent just over 30% of the combined non-Afghan force in the province.
Big changes are coming to Kandahar, changes that must net results in order for the coalition leaders to convince other member nations that their contributions are not futile.
