Afghanistan SITREP

Army, Jun 2002 by Steele, Dennis

Spikes of relatively intense periods of conventional field operations in Afghanistan are separated by lulls during which units regroup and refit and staffs reevaluate the situation and plan the next step. Several quiet weeks passed between Operation Anaconda and the follow-on operations in its wake-primarily involving U.S. Army units-and the British-led Operation Snipe and Canadian-led Operation Torii.

Snipe and Torii made sweeps through two separate areas (one of them the previously contested Tora Bora region) in a search for al Qaeda fighters and supply caches. They found no fighters but discovered and destroyed or captured huge caches of ammunition and weapons. A mass grave containing the bodies of 23 al Qaeda fighters also was unearthed, and forensic material was taken for identification. No top leaders were believed among them, however.

The British commander said that the Afghan war against the al Qaeda and Taliban is "all but won" as Operation Snipe concluded. The American view is that much remains to be done in Afghanistan, especially concerning the stabilization of the Afghan government, if not additional conventional operations.

U.S. soldiers recently discovered more large ammunition and weapons caches south of Gardez and in Herat, including five T-54 tanks and nearly 2 million small-arms rounds. Periodic U.S. Army patrols and raids have continued under Operation Mountain Lion in eastern Afghanistan. A small number of al Qaeda casualties have been inflicted in ambushes and raids. Coalition special operations missions continue to be conducted in Afghanistan, including work with the Afghanistan Military Forces, the militia that fought alongside coalition forces against the Taliban and al Qaeda. U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers also are training the new Afghan national army, a mission that could take two years.

The possibility remains that al Qaeda forces could regroup in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan-Pakistan border is porous. Significant al Qaeda forces and perhaps some of its top leaders are believed to be receiving sanctuary in the neighboring autonomous tribal regions of Pakistan. Al Qaeda leaders have signaled that they are waiting for the Afghan interim government to stagger before making their move.

In cooperation with Pakistani forces, American forces are, at a minimum, continuing to gather intelligence on al Qaeda locations and activity across the border in a quest for what is termed "actionable intelligence"-akin to reasonable cause-which could lead to operations against specific targets if Pakistan gives the okay.

Meanwhile, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) infantry units in Afghanistan have redeployed to their home base at Fort Drum, N.Y. Task Force Rakkasan from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) remains deployed in Afghanistan, operating from Bagram air base in the northeast and Kandahar Airport in the south. A brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division appears likely to replace the 101st Airborne task force.

Command of the coalition joint task force, the countrywide land-component command in Afghanistan, is being transferred from Maj. Gen. Frank L. Hagenbeck, the 10th Mountain Division commanding general, to Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill, commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps, and coalition joint task force staff positions also are being transferred to XVIII Airborne Corps personnel. The command was elevated to a true joint command and will direct both land and air operations in Afghanistan. Pentagon officials said that the shift will allow Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander in chief, U.S. Central Command, to devote more attention to the rest of the region. ky

As the war on terror continues, the United States and our allies continue to bring the fight to our enemies, chasing them in the mountains, devastating the caves in which they hide and following intelligence leads in nations all over the world. Concurrent with the effort to eliminate terrorist organizations from the globe and punish those nations who harbor them, our long standing national policy of providing military assistance to our allies continues.

Security assistance-long one of the pillars of U.S. foreign policy-will be more important than ever in helping to deter and defeat terrorism. Providing help to the nations who join us in the elimination of terror helps establish the peace and stability that creates a climate in which terrorists are less likely to thrive.

The U.S. Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC) is one of the major subordinate commands of the Army Materiel Command (AMC). USASAC is the Army's vanguard for security assistance, which, succinctly summarized, is the sale, grant, lease or loan of defense articles, equipment and services to our allies and friendly foreign governments. Security assistance, including its largest program, foreign military sales (FMS), supports the defense interests of both the United States and our allies by promoting regional stability, deterring aggression, maintaining international alliances and restructuring Cold War militaries.