In this edition:
Coalition
forces disrupt a roadside bomb network in Kandahar (4 militants killed, 8 detained)
Afghanistan Troop Buildup a ‘Delicate’ Endeavor, Spokesman Says
NATO initiates security investigation
Building up Bagram
Coalition forces disrupt a roadside bomb network in Kandahar
January 30, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan – Coalition forces killed four militants and detained eight suspected militants during operations to disrupt Taliban bomb makers and militants in Kandahar Thursday.
In Arghandab District, just outside Kandahar proper, the operation targeted a Taliban operator known to have employed roadside bombs aimed against Afghan National Police and Coalition forces.
When Coalition forces reached the compound where the Taliban member was located, armed militants engaged the Coalition force with small arms fire. Militants barricaded themselves in a building endangering the women and children on the compound. Coalition forces precisely engaged the barricaded militants after they refused to surrender, while safeguarding the women and children.
Other suspected militants on the compound followed Coalition forces’ instructions to surrender and were detained without incident.
A building damaged by the militants was deemed unsafe for occupants by the Coalition force. After removing women and children a safe distance, forces destroyed the building preventing harm to anyone.
During the operation, the force found AK-47s, grenades and blasting caps, the latter used to initiate IEDs.
Nine women and 17 children present on the compound were unharmed during the operation due to the precise actions of Coalition forces.
Release Number 20093001-01
Afghanistan Troop Buildup a ‘Delicate’ Endeavor, Spokesman Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to present the Pentagon’s proposal for a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan to President Barack Obama in the near future, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today.
“I think everybody’s committed to doing this as quickly and
responsibly as possible,” Morrell told Pentagon reporters. “In the
coming days, the secretary hopes to present the president with his
recommendation.”
Army
Gen. David D. McKiernan, who commands U.S. forces in Afghanistan as
well as NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, has asked his
bosses for a 30,000-troop increase, which effectively would double the
U.S. military contingent in Afghanistan.
Gates and other
senior civilian and military officials at the Pentagon have said they
believe it is necessary to send more troops to Afghanistan to suppress
resurgent Taliban fighters and al-Qaida terrorists.
The White
House is reviewing U.S. strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, Morrell said.
Any U.S. troop increase for Afghanistan, he said, needs the approval of
the new commander in chief.
Increased violence in Afghanistan
and Pakistan threatens global security and constitutes “the central
front in our enduring struggle against terrorism,” Obama said during a
Jan. 22 visit to the State Department.
Obama also is studying several options presented to him by Pentagon officials for a drawdown of U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
During
his Jan. 27 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates
said if Obama approves the Afghanistan troop increase, that most of
those extra forces could be provided to McKiernan by midsummer.
Gates
is mindful of the balancing of risk regarding U.S. troop strength in
Iraq and Afghanistan, Morrell said, noting that the Iraq drawdown
affects the numbers of additional troops available for deployment to
Afghanistan.
Additionally, any increase of combat troops for Afghanistan, Morrell said, would require additional support forces as well.
“It’s
a delicate plus-up, because you’ve got to do it commensurate to the
infrastructure that exists” in austere Afghanistan, Morrell said.
Biographies:
Robert M. Gates
Geoff Morrell
Army Gen. David D. McKiernan
Related Sites:
U.S. Forces Afghanistan
NATO International Security Assistance Force
Related Articles:
Planners Prepare Options on Iraq, Afghanistan for Obama
Military Ready to Send More Troops to Afghanistan, Gates Says
Military to Focus on Shorter-Term Goals in Afghanistan, Gates Says
Obama Directs Military to Conduct Responsible Iraq Drawdown
NATO initiates security investigation
A decision by NATO Defense Ministers on Alliance Counter-Narcotics strategy was taken in Budapest in October 2008, according to which ISAF can act, in concert with the Afghans, against facilities and facilitators supporting the insurgency, in the context of counternarcotics. SACEUR has been tasked to implement this decision. Accordingly, SACEUR issued general guidance as a follow-up to the Budapest Ministerial decision. He has not, and never has, issued illegal orders.
The NATO Secretary General and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe find the recent events associated with the leaking of NATO classified documents unacceptable. Our nations’ security and the safety of our servicemen and women depend on adherence to NATO security regulations and the protection of classified material. The NATO Secretary General has initiated a security investigation into this matter.
Building up Bagram
1/21/2009 - Master Sgt. Will Vangundy,
755th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, welds together steel
frames for a construction project on Bagram Air Field Jan. 21. The
master sergeant is deployed here from Wright Patterson's 455th Civil
Engineer Squadron to help improve infrastructure at Bagram Air Field.
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