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Under U.S. Air Cover, Afghan Commandos Chase The Elusive Taliban
[NPR] The American Green Berets were seated around a long, plywood table at their base when they spotted the Taliban counterattack on their screens.The burly Americans were working on computers, drinking coffee and munching on chips and peanut butter cookies. Their team leader answered an ever-ringing phone, giving his superiors updates on an Afghan commando mission in the mountains just north of Afghanistan's Kandahar Airfield. Put the chips and cookies away and you'll have time to have someone PUSH operational updates. The phone may then stop ringing. The Green Berets could see the progress of the mission on a massive screen on the wall -- live video sent by an American drone. The Afghan commandos had opened fire on the Taliban, and they had fired back. An American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter sliced down to shred the defenders. Many scattered. Then, the American troops here spotted about two dozen men -- black-and-white figures on their monitors -- carrying rifles and machine guns, moving along a dry riverbed, parallel to the Afghan commandos. The American soldiers discussed how to respond: Was there an armed drone available to release a Hellfire missile? Or an AC-130 Spooky gunship on hand, with its heavy artillery? Fire Support planning is generally done prior to the operation. Just say'n. But the Taliban answered the question on their own: when the men emerged from the woods, they had no weapons -- knowing that meant the Americans could not fire. "Once we lose positive identification of the enemy, it is our policy not to strike, because our number-one concern is civilian casualties," said the Special Forces team leader. NPR was permitted to observe the operation under ground rules that included not identifying him by name. Posted by: Besoeker 2016-06-02 |
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