NATO ramps up attacks on Taliban in Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

A man walks by a logo printed on a wall inside the NATO summit venue in Lisbon on Thursday. Heads of State of NATO member countries gather for a two-day summit beginning on Friday, and will discuss such topics as Afghanistan and missile defense.


NATO ramps up attacks on Taliban in Afghanistan
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

Coalition forces have increased the pace of military operations in Afghanistan to record levels, achieving battlefield successes against the Taliban as NATO prepares to discuss the future of the war at a summit this weekend in Portugal.

Warplanes dropped a record 1,000 bombs and other munitions in October, up from 660 in October 2009, according to coalition statistics. The number of Special Forces-led raids against insurgent leaders has increased sixfold over last year.

"We've had some significant successes in the last six weeks or so," said Canadian air force Lt. Col. Alex Day, deputy chief of the air operations control center. "We're going to press home the advantage."

The operations were planned without regard for the summit date and come at a time when coalition forces are at a peak of around 150,000, which includes 100,000 American troops.

~snip~

"This is our last best chance," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who sits on the Armed Services Committee. "NATO needs to understand that."




unhappycamper comment: The 'coalition' has 150 thousand boots on the ground in Afghanistan, but how many contractors are there on the ground? *crickets*

[w8liftinglady]

1. at least 100 K,although they are very quiet about it

and,for the redord,I rec'd this...someone is having "fun"

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/number_of_private_security_contractors_in_afghanis.php


The military is increasingly relying on private security contractors as President Obama ramps up the war in Afghanistan, with contractors now making up as much as 30% of the armed force in the country, a just-released congressional report shows.

In the period roughly tracking with President Obama's first nine months in office, the number of Defense Department armed security contractors soared 236% -- from 3,184 to 10,712 between December 2008 to September 2009. The number roughly doubled between June and September 2009 alone.

The new Congressional Research Service report also calculates that contractors in Afghanistan make up between 22% and 30% of the armed U.S. force in Afghanistan.

The news of the surge in private security contractors comes as the total number of contractors -- including those who do construction, cook meals, etc -- is also soaring, with over 100,000 already in Afghanistan.