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Afghanistan
NATO to continue Afghan night raids
2011-12-20
KABUL: NATO will continue to carry out nighttime kill-and-capture raids that target suspected insurgents despite repeated protests by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the alliance said Monday. Spokesman Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson said that Afghan special forces, however, now take part in nearly all night raids and their participation is constantly increasing.

The raids have become a flashpoint for anger over foreign meddling in Afghanistan and whether detention operations will be run by the Afghans or Americans. Karzai has demanded that foreign troops stop entering homes, saying Afghan citizens cannot feel secure if they think armed soldiers might burst into their houses in the middle of the night.

Jacobson countered that the raids remain the safest form of operation to take out insurgent leaders. They account for less than 1 percent of civilian casualties, and in 85 percent of cases no shots are fired, he said.

Last month, Karzai convened a traditional national assembly known as a Loya Jirga that stopped short of demanding a complete end to night raids. Instead, it asked that they be led and controlled by Afghan security forces -- a demand that the US says it has met.

Adm. William McRaven, who leads the US Special Operations Command, said last week that about 2,800 raids were carried out against insurgent targets in the past year.

But some analysts
...and what would we do without unnamed experts dogging us at every step...
have questioned the military and political value of the operations, saying that when guerrilla commanders are taken out they are usually replaced by younger and more aggressive fighters less disposed to making any compromise with the government.
Those younger commanders also have less training and experience, which means they are more likely to get caught and killed. I believe it is called getting inside the training cycle, and it quickly degrades the ability of the bad guys to accomplish much of anything. See Iraq during the surge.
The issue also has held up the signing of a security agreement with the US that could keep thousands of American troops here for years beyond the 2014 deadline for most international forces to leave. Remaining American troops would train Afghan forces and assist with counterterrorism operations.
Posted by:Steve White

#1  And the US to conintue using Drones as per IRAN.

Meanwhile, INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > INDIA'S SECRET-ISH ROMANCE WID NORTH KOREA, + late dictator Kimmie for expanded influence vee Rising China.

Uh, uh, CHINA TO PAKLAND > STOP BEING A SLUT!

Time for Kabul to be jealous ala Menage a Trois'???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-12-20 23:15  

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