| Tango01 | 23 Aug 2016 3:24 p.m. PST |
…battle Taliban. "More than a hundred US troops have been sent to Lashkar Gah to help prevent the Taliban from overrunning the capital of Afghanistan's Helmand province, in what is thought to be the first US deployment to the embattled city since foreign troops withdrew in 2014. Since late July, the Taliban have seized new territory across Helmand, defying a series of about 30 US airstrikes, and raising concern of an attack on the capital. The militants have also stepped up attacks in the country's north, closing in on Kunduz, which they briefly captured last year…"
More here link Amicalement
Armand |
| Mako11 | 23 Aug 2016 4:17 p.m. PST |
Seems a little late for them to be conducting crash training courses for the Afghanis. Afterall, what can they do, since US military combat operations ceased in that country months ago? |
| cwlinsj | 23 Aug 2016 4:35 p.m. PST |
What is the point of 100 troops settling into a defensive position? The Taliban are operating at battalion levels nowadays. Are they just supposed to be bait to lure them into a few airstrikes? |
| Mako11 | 23 Aug 2016 6:05 p.m. PST |
Perhaps. That makes more sense than other theories. |
| Mako11 | 24 Aug 2016 11:56 a.m. PST |
Correction, those were "ceased" two years ago, despite all empirical evidence to the contrary. |
 Legion 4   | 25 Aug 2016 7:44 a.m. PST |
Well we don't want to have an Alamo situation in A'stan for US troops. Regardless, yes, with all the air power the US has available. It is a very good "technique", while the "cockroaches" are out in the open. To take advantage of this and remove as many from the battlefield as possible. The most powerful weapon a PL or Co Cdr has is their radios. 2000 lbs. JDAMs is a lot of "firepower" … |
| cwlinsj | 25 Aug 2016 9:21 a.m. PST |
Same tactics often used in Vietnam. I don't like it because it gives the iniative and mobility to your enemy. |
| Legion 4 | 25 Aug 2016 3:45 p.m. PST |
But in a typical insurgency, they often decide when and where to attack(like Tet). So they come out in the open. Yes, it's not perfect tactical situation but again we should take advantage of it. And in a "normal" COIN operation … then you go on the offensive. Once the enemy is attrited and may be on the run. But I don't think the US going to do anything that aggressive. And probably the ANA/ANP are not going to anything beyond their standard. |
| cwlinsj | 25 Aug 2016 7:33 p.m. PST |
Yeah, but look at the success of the Brits in Malaysia or the So. Africans when they took the battle directly to the enemy. Problem with trying to win a war of attrition with the Afghans is that they have up to 2 millions to draw from right across the Pakistan border. They will always have more. And, if you yield the countryside to the enemy, they kill the friendly elders and radicalize or intimidate the local population. This includes the families of soldiers and civil servants. Putting 100 men in the center of "Indian country" to be targets is just a sign that there is no strategy. |
| Legion 4 | 26 Aug 2016 8:08 a.m. PST |
I understand all that … but remember we are not there to "win" … We can't … no one can. We only need to keep loses as close 0 as possible. And then figure a way out. Kind of like … wait for it … Vietnam …  And tossing around 2000 lbs. bombs will kill a lot of the "bad guys". And there are a number of them, Talis, AQ and now Daesh … Which in the long run may mean nothing. But in the short run. Killing a lot of various jihadis is the best we can do. Remember, if the US had not have supported the Muj vs. the USSR. UBL and his cronies may have died at the hands of the Soviets. That may have certainly affected the situation we are in today. Again in the meantime killing jihadis in large numbers is just the only thing we can do. For now … And, if you yield the countryside to the enemy, they kill the friendly elders and radicalize or intimidate the local population. This includes the families of soldiers and civil servants. That has happened and is happening right now. The ANA/ANP are not capable of doing anything about it. Not now or in the past. Putting 100 men in the center of "Indian country" to be targets is just a sign that there is no strategy. When was there ever an effective strategy demonstrated by the current leadership in the USA ? If I say more I'll surely get DH'd … So again in the meantime. Protect those troops by calling in as much CAS as often as possible. And at the same time kill off as many jihadis as possible. There may be a future UBL, or Baghdadi in the lot ? |
