|
Pakistan drives Taliban into trap
 Afghanistan and Pakistan's ongoing military offensive in the Tribal Areas is chasing Taliban across the border, where they are being intercepted by a United States-Afghan security initiative, a US commander said, according to a report in The Washington Times on Friday. The level of violence over the past couple of months in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan has risen significantly from the same period last year, and is expected to increase another 10 to 20 percent in the spring, largely because of the results of operations across the border in Bajaur Agency, US Army Colonel John Spiszer told the newspaper. Although Pakistan's commitment to the campaign against terrorists has been questioned and some Pakistani troops are reported to have been redeployed to the eastern border with India, the Bajaur campaign was having an impact, Spiszer said. "Pakistani pressure... has denied [the insurgents] safe havens and led to more contact in Afghanistan," he said, adding that an increase of Afghan security forces in the region also has contributed to a rise in hostile engagements this winter. "And thatŽs not a bad thing." Spiszer said the trend is likely to continue as additional US forces are deployed to help secure the mountainous terrain that divides the two countries. Of the 3,500 to 4,000 troops from the 3rd Combat Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, scheduled to deploy in January, roughly 500 will help stabilise his area of operations, which also includes Nangarhar and Laghman provinces, he said. In the near term, a joint initiative known as Operation Lion Heart is under way to better coordinate counterinsurgency efforts on both sides of the border through intelligence sharing and border interdiction, the report said. Spiszer said the initiative is "less about synchronicity and more complementary", with commanders exchanging tactical information daily to prevent insurgents from resupplying and transiting unchecked through traditional filter points. US-led operations inside Afghanistan will increase as winter progresses to support the Pakistani offensive, he said, adding that the sustained nature of Pakistani operations "has the potential to make some differences". He added, however, that Pakistan has been focused away from the immediate border, "so we haven't closed all the gaps on either side". Reports that Pakistani forces are being redeployed from the Tribal Areas to the Indian border -- after the Mumbai attacks that India blames on Pakistan-based elements -- suggest that the military is growing frustrated by a domestic counterinsurgency campaign it is ill-equipped to fight, preferring to confront an old and conventional foe. . However, Nadeem Kiani, a spokesman for the Pakistan embassy in Washington, said reports that Pakistan is moving troops to the border with India are 'not true'. "We have not moved troops from our western borders," he said. "Security forces are continuing their operations against militants in the Tribal Areas. Currently an operation is going on in Khyber Agency against militants who were disrupting the NATO supply route to Afghanistan." Kiani added that "all the three valleys and important towns have been cleared of militants". Spiszer, who commands a brigade of the Army's 1st Infantry Division, said that about $80 million was spent last year on reconstruction in the region despite the hostilities. He said the presence of coalition outposts deep in the backcountry also has allowed development projects to accelerate in more densely populated areas such as Nangarhar province, which has been relatively peaceful. Posted by: Fred 2009-01-03 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=258875 |