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| Afghanistan |
| Special Forces In Afghanistan Say There's No Clear US Strategy |
| 2016-05-10 |
| [Daily Caller] A recently released Pentagon report shows Special Forces operators in Afghanistan often felt there was no clear strategy or clarity behind their orders. The 700+ page report is the result of an investigation into last year's accidental attack on a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz. Included in the hundreds of pages are several interviews with U.S. Army Special Forces personnel who expressed serious concerns over a lack of direction in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan. "How far do you want to go?" is not a proper response to "How far do you want us to go?'" said one operator in the report. The report shows that many Special Forces operators were not clear on the rules of engagement or how far they were allowed to go when accompanying their local Afghan National Army (ANA) trainees. One of the primary missions of the Special Forces is to embed with local partners and train them in various aspects of warfare, ranging from small unit tactics to fire support requests. Special Forces operators have been working with the ANA as part of Operation Resolute Support, the NATO mission to "train, advise assist" in Afghanistan, as opposed to engage in a direct combat role. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #10 Before you can judge a strategy you have to understand the aims/goals. Hmmmm. How about protecting the poppies? |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2016-05-10 18:55 |
| #9 Kinda like the US strategy in Iraq... Syria... Libya... Pacific... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2016-05-10 15:05 |
| #8 Because "flexibility." |
| Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2016-05-10 13:32 |
| #7 Our SOF should only train their SOF and let those guys train and assist their own. |
| Posted by: Tennessee 2016-05-10 10:50 |
| #6 Obama's strategy in Afghanistan ended in 2009...it was worst case - a political strategy focused only on a number and the optics that he was perceived to act like he cared about the war that mattered... Even now I am unsure what we accomplished in 09...although I am very clear about the consequences of the buildup and the fact that we pay the Taliban for the privilege of fighting them. |
| Posted by: Tennessee 2016-05-10 10:46 |
| #5 In Naylor's 'Relentless Strike' he talks about SOF frustrations in Iraq toward the end of the Obama involvement. The effort was seen as futile by those brave lads going out on door-kicking or snatch missions each day. Stay-behind assignments never were very popular. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-05-10 10:25 |
| #4 "Milling about smartly" is a valid strategy when your leadership is deliberately absent. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-05-10 10:11 |
| #3 Before you can judge a strategy you have to understand the aims/goals. With our current clique I have no problem believing that things are proceeding as desired. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2016-05-10 07:44 |
| #2 Not necessarily a Republican problem. But not an Obama problem. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2016-05-10 07:28 |
| #1 A solid 'strategy' requires planning. The Obama regime's planning goes no further than January 2017. After that it's a Republican problem. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-05-10 06:41 |