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Big Helmand offensive in the offing

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Big Helmand offensive in the offing

LASHKAR GAH: Taliban militants are digging in ahead of a major NATO operation in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, in one of the biggest offensives in the eight-year-old war.

U.S. Marines are set to launch an operation within days to take Marjah, an area of lush farmland criss-crossed by canals in the centre of Helmand, Afghanistan's most violent province.

The offensive will be the first major show of force since President Barack Obama ordered in 30,000 extra troops.

The operation has been flagged in advance in the hope militants will give up the fight in what commanders say is the last big Taliban enclave in the province.

"It has to do with letting people know what's coming in the hope that the hardcore Taliban, or a lot of the Taliban, will simply leave, and maybe there will be less of a fight," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Turkey on Saturday.

But some of the villagers escaping Marjah in fear of their lives said fighters are digging in rather than fleeing.

"The Taliban are not going to leave Marjah. We have seen them preparing themselves. They are bringing in people and weapons. We know there is going to be a big fight," said Abdul Manan, a man from Marjah who had fled to Helmand's capital, Lashkar Gah.

"The Taliban are very active in Marjah. They are planting mines there and in the surrounding areas," said villager Abdul Khaleq after arriving in Lashkar Gah with his family.

The United States and its allies, facing dwindling public support for the war, are hoping a big military push will convince the Taliban to accept a peace deal.

But U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke dismissed speculation Washington, which wants to start drawing down troops in 2011, was already holding talks with the Taliban.

"... I want to state very clearly that our nation is not involved in any direct contacts with the Taliban," he told reporters at a security conference in Munich, Germany.

Holbrooke said in principle negotiations and military operations could run in parallel, citing as examples the efforts to end the Vietnam war and the conflict in former Yugoslavia.

"But it must go hand in hand with security success. It is not an alternative to the military campaign. It requires military success to make progress."

The Taliban have stepped up their fight against foreign troops in recent years, although they have largely shied away from face-to-face combat, relying instead on homemade bombs.

But Abdullah Nasrat, a Taliban commander in Nad Ali district where Marjah is located, said while talking to a British news agency by telephone there were some 2,000 insurgents there ready to fight to the death.

"We are well prepared and will fight until the end. We don't have sophisticated weapons like the Americans with tanks and airplanes, but we have Islamic zeal. That is the power we have to fight against the infidels," he said.

Around 100 families have fled Marjah and surrounding areas, seeking refuge in Lashkar Gah over the last week, the provincial governor's spokesman Dawood Ahmadi said. Afghan families average around six members.

"On the government side, we are ready to help these people. We are ready to help up to 50,000 displaced people," he said, adding there was a possibility of more people fleeing. Those who fled said they feared for their lives.

"We know that the wrath of the Americans is coming upon us. We left Marjah to save our lives and our families' lives," the villager, Khaleq, said.

In Munich, Afghan President Hamid Karzai renewed a call for an end to civilian casualties in Afghanistan and a halt to military raids on Afghan villages by international forces.

Civilian casualties had been declining recently but "we'd like to see civilian casualties go completely", he said.

Civilian deaths and injuries inflicted during operations by international forces have caused deep anger among Afghans and analysts say that encouraged people to join the Taliban.

"We believe that the war on terror is not in the Afghan villages and homes. We believe this war on terror is in the sanctuaries, training grounds and the motivational factors and financial resources beyond the Afghan borders," Karzai said.

"Therefore ending operations in Afghan villages is what the Afghan people are seeking as a priority: ending raids at night on Afghan homes, ending the arrests of Afghans in their homes."

Washington and its allies are keen to train up Afghan forces so they can take more responsibility for maintaining security. But new training teams are urgently needed if Afghan security forces are to grow to a target of 300,000 personnel in 2011.

Defense Secretary Gates said on Sunday NATO allies could make up a shortfall of trainers by reshuffling rather than expanding their existing troop commitments.

But in a sign of the challenge Western troops face in setting up Afghan security forces they can trust, NATO said on Sunday that an Afghan provincial deputy police chief had been arrested as part of a ring that planted roadside bombs.

Western governments acknowledge that the police force is plagued by corruption, incompetence and infiltration by insurgents, undermining their efforts to transfer security.

International troops and Afghan security forces arrested the deputy police chief of mainly French-patrolled Kapisa province, Colonel Attaullah, in the province's Mahmud Raqi district, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

Big Helmand offensive in the offing
 
What a great fight!

World Poorest nation Vs ISAF(Only Super Power + 40 EU Nations)

I hope this war will break the back bone of ISAF in Afghanistan.

Inshallah
 
What a great fight!

World Poorest nation Vs ISAF(Only Super Power + 40 EU Nations)

I hope this war will break the back bone of ISAF in Afghanistan.

Inshallah

I hope not.. Really hope these terrorists are crushed to dust. It seems USA has learnt its lesson from vietnam. Its not trying to fight a territory holding war that will tie down its forces. The doctrine seems to be a highly mobile war with punishment and destruction of war machinery as prime objective..
 
Anyone knows what was the outcome of the last operation, the Cobra's Anger ????

What was achieved and what was not ?? Are taliban out of that area or not ???
 
Anyone knows what was the outcome of the last operation, the Cobra's Anger ????

What was achieved and what was not ?? Are taliban out of that area or not ???

Good Question ?

S2 (Afghan war Vatren) is US- NATO representative/supporter may be have any clue?
 
What a great fight!

World Poorest nation Vs ISAF(Only Super Power + 40 EU Nations)

I hope this war will break the back bone of ISAF in Afghanistan.

Inshallah

Since when did a rag a tag bunch of paid mercanaries from Uzbek FATA, NWFP become a nation ?

When the Afghan Army fights the ISAF you can make such shallow and stupid comments.

I think Allah is wise as those 2000 idiots will be meeting him soon. ISAF will loose just a few poor souls.

Dreaming is good but this time do it without any weed.

Regards
 
what ever we should close our border on whole opration area otherwise mooroons will agian enter pakistan and problims for us.if i will area commonder i order shot every one who enter from hilmind to pak in these days.

uzbek dogs or alqida pigs or ttp paid killers we have to kill them or ready for there rule on our great pakistan .i will select kill them.
 
why we forget uzbeks rule in swat 2007 and moroons help to them alqaida ready for new capital islamabad?.these animals only understand language of gun.ISAF or US army we have no problim even they nuke afghanistan.what we earn from last 30 years of involveing in afghanistan? gun culture crime bomb blast and recently oprations.? close whole border clean whole pakistan from so called fasadi(jihadi) and then no drone attack no indian hostiles no bomb blast suciders.shame on them who sporrt these basterds who cut our solders like chiken in swat and fata even they was surenders.
 
Imran Khan what you say in essence is true, but why bring this discussion off tangent and blame people of Uzbek background for what ISI and Pakhtoons created. Taliban is 100% Pashtun composed force. The Uzbek connection found operating in Pakistan are Al Qaeda and numbering in the fractions and there are just about the same amount of Chechens, Yemeni's, Saudis, and yes even black Africans as according to a report I read in a Pakistani paper who was quoting a Major who fought in Bajaur. Judging by those killed by drones and what Pakistan army has been saying, the main force seems to be Pakthoons and most have intentions of ceding Pakistan. This is a bigger situation than Uzbeks trying to invade Pakistan. Pakistan's enemies are self created and domestic in the most part.
 
what ever they are we will send them hell no matter afghan uzbek or pakistan enemy of pakistan must die.
 
where is the surprise factor .. may be ISAF are tryin to push them all in Pak, and then we have to deal with the mess. It smells bad
 
"World Poorest nation Vs ISAF..."

I see our favorite taliban irhabist mouthpiece is continuing his miscreant work when he clearly knows that ISAF serves Afghanistan's quest for stabilization per the U.N. mandate and Bonn Accords. The same quest that is seeked by the government of Pakistan, who has formal relations with the nation of Afghanistan and maintains both an embassy as well as four consulates within that country.

More oddities by tongue-twister who pursuit of the truth is illusory.:agree:

Thanks.:usflag:
 
"Anyone knows what was the outcome of the last operation, the Cobra's Anger ????

What was achieved and what was not ?? Are taliban out of that area or not ???"


The first phase of COBRA ANGER was accomplished in that Now Zad has been re-taken from the taliban enslavers. The markets are operating and the farmers have largely returned to that area. The taliban still lurk and, as such, it'll be a long hard slog for the nascent afghan government to establish firm control over the area and assert the writ of governance needed.

That still is very much a problem. However, the Marines are there and will be for some time to come. We would like to eventually withdraw but President Obama made clear in his speech that ground conditions will dictate the extent and speed of such.

Understand that a withdrawal will take place for political reasons. However, the addition of many thousands of American troops whom have yet to arrive to those many thousands already there means that America could initiate a withdrawal in mid-2011 at a slow pace for some considerable time before we even retract to PRESENT LEVELS, much less fall below our current state.

Further, a buildup is ongoing in Helmand now to expand that writ to Marjah. Some say the taliban have left or will leave. Others say they may make a stand of it.

I believe that they'll not fight and, instead, bury their weapons along with hundreds of IEDs to kill as many marines and civilians as possible. They will certainly kill many of both but our forces are fully aware of the risks and prepared to accept them in order to protect the population as best we can.

If these are holy warriors we fight then they worship a dark lord. Pressure-detonated IEDs discern not between civilians and soldiers. We've found many in Now Zad and shall find more in Marjah.

There is no fast and easy answer though when the enemy hides behind the skirts of women and the bodies of children. There, of course, would be a rapid but deadly finish if they fought like warriors but ask the Pakistani army how often they do so in Waziristan?

So sad but as Kharian Beast has said, this is a power grab cloaked in pseudo-religious garb. Were the taliban truly interested in peace for their people, they'd lay down their arms and bombs and place forth a political platform and compete for votes.

Doing so would assure their defeat and they know it. It's why Omar shall never agree to elections and will only negotiate surrender terms with an Afghan government once ISAF is gone.

Thanks.:usflag:
 
So what are the prime objectives .. Obviously if you dont want the taliban to return then you have to capture the territory and maintain considerable boots on ground , inorder to settle it ..!
 
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