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| Afghanistan |
| Why is the military publicizing its upcoming operations in Afghanistan? |
| 2010-02-05 |
| WASHINGTON (CNN) - When it comes to launching a major military operation, most would assume that preparations are done secretly so as not to tip off the enemy. So how do the U.S., coalition military and Afghan government prepare for a major clearing operation to eliminate the Taliban from an insurgent stronghold? Talk about it publicly ahead of time. For months now, one of the worst kept secrets in Afghanistan's central Helmand region has been the forthcoming operation to take back control of the poppy-covered and Taliban-held Marjah district in the restive central Helmand province region. The area is home to some of the most serious fighting between the coalition and Taliban in the country, and also is some of the most fertile land in the country. Helmand province is in southern central Afghanistan and is patrolled mainly by forces from the United Kingdom and U.S. Marines, and it has been on the coalition's radar for a long time as Taliban dug in and funded their operations with money from poppy production. Central Helmand is also home to the majority of the world supply of heroin, about 60 percent, according to U.S. government officials. The relationship of convenience between narco-traffickers and the Taliban brings in about $400 million to the Taliban from the poppy sales, "more than enough for them to conduct the kind of operations they do," according to a senior U.S. military official. The U.S. military has been briefing reporters for months on basics, mainly that the Marjah region is the target of this operation. However, officials have been leaving out details of how and when the operation will go down. The British military even put out a press release with the name of the effort, Operation Moshtarak, which means "together" in Afghanistan's Persian-language dialect of Dari, saying the military is in the "shape" phase of the operation. There have also been discussions with local governmental leaders about the operation, and those leaders have in turn spread the word around the local population. So why, if the enemy is concentrated in one area, would the top commander in Afghanistan authorize the publicity of a major operation to go in, clear the area of Taliban and try to convince poppy growers to switch to wheat? It is a curious plan, but a plan that both Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen agree with and signed off on. The answer, it seems, is based on human nature. If you are told the military is going to conduct a major operation in your region and you are one of the bad guys, common sense says you pack up and leave. But in this case, part of the message has been sent to the local population to let them know the Afghan government will support them if they change from growing poppy to growing wheat of other non-narco crops. That paves the way, the military hopes, for less combat and leaves Afghan and coalition forces with a local population, in theory, willing to work with them. There are problems with this kind of plan, though. The Taliban have plenty of time to plant roadside bombs and leave other deadly surprises behind for the Afghan and coalition troops. The military understands this and expects this, and is prepared for casualties - but the benefits outweigh the negatives, according to military officials. If the local population understands ahead of time that the government and local security forces will deliver jobs and security, then the fight will not be that bad. The Marjah model is something McChrystal is counting on working; if it does, it will be applied to numerous other problem areas around the country, according to U.S. military officials. Proof that this could work is counter-intuitively based on the failure of U.K. troops in the same area last year. There was no support form the local government or Afghan forces and the local governances did not end up supporting the local populations and remained influenced by the Taliban. U.S. commanders are hopeful, and believe this formula of broadcasting the plans that will be more effective. The question remains - if this does not work, where does that leave the U.S. and the Afghan government in the eyes of the local population who already are weary of their intentions? |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #12 Please spread fungus or virus to kill the poppies first.... PLEASE! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2010-02-05 22:34 |
| #11 Whatever the move is, this is part of prepping the battlefield. lotp, you are not alone. The scenario which concerns me is that the bad guys take up the offer to fight this battlefield, and use the CFs to kill of the riff-raff and not as hard core as they should be types, not only causing damage to the CFs but give the body count victory for CFs to pull out, kill off their future rank and file competition, and still claim a victory as the last blackhawk flies out of Kabul. A Taliban Tet Offensive if you will. (I do think that would be a highly risky strategy by the bad guys) |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2010-02-05 22:19 |
| #10 lotp - it strikes me the overriding goal may be to force senior & mid-level officers out of the service, as a precursor to major downsizing. They are the biggest natural opponent to a civilian political militia (analog Brown Shirts.) Ok, I'm done now, and will put my tinfoil hat back on. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-02-05 21:39 |
| #9 Y'all are right about tactics, I know ... I'm just p*ssed about the new ROEs and the aggressive campaign against commanders. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-02-05 20:56 |
| #8 In context of the "protect the population" operational method of counterinsurgency, this makes a good deal of sense. Guerrillas don't go up against main force units, unless the guerrillas have clear superiority. I predict that, when the offensive does happen, the tactical-level units won't find much sign of any insurgents, because they will have melted away. Taking towns without firing a shot is a big plus, because then you don't piss off the locals, and you don't have to rebuild a shattered town you just took. The townspeople will naturally look towards the coalition and Afghan gov't forces to fill the security functions that the insurgents provided, and that's the whole point. |
| Posted by: Pstanley 2010-02-05 17:48 |
| #7 "Can you imagine fighting WWII this way?" We made no secret of the fact that we were going to invade France from England, we just didn't tell them where or when we would land. We went to great pains to make sure Germany knew we were preparing to invade to include massive works of deception in making our forces looked to be massed in places where they weren't, etc. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-02-05 16:53 |
| #6 Can you imagine fighting WWII this way? Yeah! FUSAG never would have done something so stupid. Do you folks really imagine Petraeus betrayed us? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-02-05 16:39 |
| #5 Best result would be that the terrs decide this is the hill they want to die on and this gives them time to bring in more targets. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2010-02-05 16:20 |
| #4 I wouldn't doubt that a lot of it is PSYOP. You keep telling the enemy that you are coming. But they don't know when or from which direction. Maybe then you start doing small operations in the area just to get them used to seeing you in the neighborhood. They can only keep their vigilance up for so long. Pretty soon they begin to ignore these little operations. But over time, you are shaping things, managing lines of communications, preparing things. We weren't exactly secretive of the fact that we were going to take Fallujah either. It wears on the enemy and it gives civilians time to get out of the way. Basically it adds stress to the enemy's day. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-02-05 15:44 |
| #3 Possibility#3, lotp, look up how lions (lionesses actually) hunt. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-02-05 15:23 |
| #2 Depends on whether you want to win or just to posture as if you were trying, allowing the fight to be lost so you can pull the troops home and surrender. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-02-05 13:44 |
| #1 psych opps, or stupidity. ???? Maybe a false flag operation and they strike north? Anyway.. we should be able to prosecute a war better than this. Can you imagine fighting WWII this way? |
| Posted by: Mike Hunt 2010-02-05 13:33 |