Format Change

I'm again tweaking the site's format. The main page (here) is going to become much more blog-like and commentary/analysis oriented, and the essentially unused Editorials page will be removed. Of the three things I have posted there, one is available from the Jamestown Foundation, one was previously posted at News Hounds, and the third will be reposted here:

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Operation Achilles

From Wikipedia:

Operation Achilles is an ongoing NATO operation, part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present). Its objective is to clear the Helmand province of the Taliban. The operation began on March 6th of 2007 and the offensive will be the largest NATO based operation ever held in Afghanistan to date. NATO officials reported that, contrary to what happened in previous operations, Taliban fighters were avoiding direct confrontation in favor of guerilla tactics.

It is led by British ISAF forces and focuses on the Kajakai Dam, which is a major power source for Afghanistan that has not been functioning for a number of years. One part of the mission was Operation Volcano, where British Royal Marines successfully cleared a large Taliban complex near the Kajakai Dam. [1]

According to the Al Jazeera article posted on the main page, Operation Achilles is specifically trying to clear the "northern tip" to safeguard the construction of the dam.

This is exactly the sort of thing we need to be doing in 'Iraq. Rather than the purely military "clear and hold" strategy that has made Baghdad the pleasant place it is today, it uses military action as a tool with which to make rebuilding the country possible. Its objective is peace, not war, which makes a huge difference in public opinion. By opposing the "clear and hold" tactics of the Coalition in 'Iraq, the insurgency opposes invaders, and is well received by the people. By opposing Operation Achilles, however, the Taliban opposes the construction of a hydroelectric dam, which has a tendency to piss off the people who would be benefiting from the dam. Last month, for example, the Taliban attacked some engineers (who were Indian nationals, if my memory serves me). Even though the engineers were unarmed, not a single one was killed, because several hundred civilians (who tend to be armed in Afghanistan) immediately swarmed the attackers, killing several and forcing the rest to flee. This is the sort of victory we should be seeking.

Nato retake Taliban-held town

Nato-led forces have retaken the town of Sangin in southern Afghanistan from the Taliban after two days of fighting.

More than 1,000 troops took part in the operation, supported by air strikes on suspected Taliban positions in the town in Helmand province.

"Military troops have successfully engaged several Taliban extremist strongholds and discovered a number of large weapon caches," Nato's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement late on Friday.

The operation to retake Sangin started late on Wednesday and was part of Nato's largest ever offensive in Afghanistan, Operation Achilles.

Nato commanders are trying to push the Taliban out of the northern tip of Helmand to allow multimillion-dollar repair work to go ahead on a dam in the Kajaki district which would supply the country's south with electricity.

'Information war'

"Six weeks ago Al Jazeera filmed in this same area. It was clear then it was entirely under Taliban control," James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Afghanistan, said.

"There is an information war as well as a military battle going on. Nato now say they have retaken Sangin but before they never admitted it had been held by the Taliban."

A local Taliban commander has told Al Jazeera that the group plans to recapture the town from Nato and Afghan forces within days.

Haji Akhtar Mohammad, a Sangin resident, told The Associated Press news agency that Nato and Afghan troops were in control of the centre of Sangin on Saturday and the Taliban appeared to be moving towards the neighbouring district of Musa Qala.

About 4,500 Nato and 1,000 Afghan troops are in and around Helmand province as part of Operation Achilles.

There have been over 220 "tactical engagements" since the start of the operation and dozens of fighters have been killed or captured, according to Nato officials in Kabul.

Taliban meetings

On Friday, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, admitted meeting members of the Taliban movement in an attempt to to bring reconciliation to the country.

Speaking in Kabul, he said Taliban representatives had been regularly meeting government bodies, adding: "I've had some Taliban coming to speak to me as well, so this process has been there for a long time."

On the same day, elsewhere in the Afghan capital, a suicide bomber struck a few hundred metres from the parliament building, killing at least five people including a policeman.

"It was a suicide bombing ... The bomber was driving a yellow and white taxi," General Alishah Paktiawal, the city's criminal investigation police chief, said.

He said it was unclear if the attacker was targeting parliament but added that the device may have exploded prematurely.

Via Al Jazeera.