U.S. Steps Up Special Operations Mission in Afghanistan (Targeting Taliban)

[tekisui]

Source: LA Times

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.The shift could be controversial among some administration officials and lawmakers who want the U.S. military to focus primarily on the long-term fight against terrorism and on eradicating Al Qaeda.

Senior military leaders, however, believe that rolling back Taliban gains has become the overriding short-term priority. "This is Gen. McChrystal's play," said a senior U.S. official familiar with the strategy, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They have to show they can reverse momentum. He has to show he is making headway."

more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghan-special-forces16-2009dec16,0,3065247,full.story

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Taliban is an easier target than al-qaeda, especially since there are only 12 AQ in the special operations neighborhood. Much like Saddam's Iraq had 'better targets' than Afghanistan allowing for an achievable perception of mission accomplished, the current easier target is the Taliban. Hell, they are easy to defeat. We know how to do it, we did it in a few short months 8 years ago. And, back then they ran the country.

edit: posting requirements.

[DrDan]

1. "persuading them" - - - - oh brother - we know what that means

[tekisui]

3. You can almost predict their loyalty

under such persuading.

[ShortnFiery]

2. We're only targeting the Taliban that Hamid Karzai don't like. We're playing favorites in the

middle of a civil war between Karzai, the illegitimate leader of Afghanistan against the Taliban that will not genuflect before him. You better damn well bet that we will NOT ATTACK his brother the big ass Drug Lord.

How does it feel to have our military prop up an immoral and illegal THUG just because we can later use him as "Our Puppet of the Gas Pipeline?"

[tekisui]

4. The justifications of this 'just war' collapse so readily.

[cbayer]

5. tekisui,

Please be aware that our posting rules require that you limit copyrighted material to 4 paragraphs or less with a link to the original source.

Thanks,

cbayer
DU Moderator

[tekisui]

6. Corrected.

Thanks.