U.S. steps up special operations mission in Afghanistan

[pinto]

Source: LA Times

U.S. steps up special operations mission in Afghanistan

Under the shift in strategy, the teams now focus on targeting key Taliban figures rather than mainly hunting Al Qaeda leaders and have increased the number of raids they conduct, officials say.

By Julian E. Barnes
December 16, 2009

Reporting from Washington - The U.S. military command has quietly shifted and intensified the mission of clandestine special operations forces in Afghanistan, senior officials said, targeting key figures within the Taliban, rather than almost exclusively hunting Al Qaeda leaders.

As a result of orders from Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan, the special operations teams are focusing more on killing militants, capturing them or, whenever possible, persuading them to turn against the Taliban-led insurgency.

The number of raids carried out by such units as the Army's Delta Force and Navy's SEAL Team Six in Afghanistan has more than quadrupled in recent months. The teams carried out 90 raids in November, U.S. officials said, compared with 20 in May. U.S. special operations forces primarily conduct missions in eastern and southern Afghanistan.

The numbers reflect the evolving strategy and increased pressure on U.S. military leaders to show swift results against the Taliban.

The move marks the first major change in mission for the nation's most elite military units since they were sent to Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks. It comes as the Taliban has tightened its grip on key parts of Afghanistan, where only a few dozen Al Qaeda operatives are thought to remain.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghan-special-forces16-2009dec16,0,2135079.story

[TexasObserver]

1. Recommend.

[shadowknows69]

2. This is all we should ever have been doing there. Small targeted Ops.

We have whole units of guys trained to do just that. You don't plop down an army of 100-200k and try to occupy half the Middle East. Because you can never win that fight. We're there in large numbers because we plan on staying there. Even if we kill every "bad guy" there is.