Afstan: US surge for real
President Obama gives the word; here's the US Department of Defense announcement (via Bouhammer's Afghan blog):
I'll bet US dollars to Canadian Timbits (talk about supporting the troops!) that the Marines deploy to Regional Command South. Where they will try to do what the British, Canadians and Dutch have been unable to do: clear and then hold territory until Afghan government forces can move in and, eventually, take over. Along with, whatever one chooses to call them, tribal militias. Later on, even if all goes well, how does one get the tribal and government forces to work together?
Update: For those not aware, Stryker brigades are centred on a family of vehicles based on the same platform as the Canadian Army's LAV III, and are also made by General Dynamics Land Systems--with much of the assembly work done at their London, Ontario plant (where the LAV III is assembled).
Upperdate: The Globe and Mail--"Canada's National Newspaper"--amazingly did not carry a story reporting the US troop surge in its Feb. 18 print edition. Instead this is all one got:
Pursuant to President Obama’s decision today, Secretary Gates ordered the deployment of two additional combat units, totaling more than 12,000 troops, to Afghanistan. The 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB), from Camp Lejeune, N.C., with approximately 8,000 Marines will deploy to Afghanistan in late Spring 2009.More:
The 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division from Ft. Lewis, Wash., will deploy approximately 4,000 soldiers to Afghanistan in mid-summer 2009. This Stryker Brigade and the MEB will deploy to increase the capabilities of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) [emphasis added].
Approximately 5,000 additional troops to support these combat forces will receive deployment orders at a later date.
DoD will continue to announce major unit deployments when they are approved...
...I would think the Marine expeditionary brigade is roughly equivalent to two Army brigade combat teams. So now, with the the new Army brigade combat team in place and the aviation combat brigade soon to arrive, it would seem that the increase in combat units requested since last fall by US military commanders has essentially been authorized.
Prior to today's announcement, the Pentagon had already sent one of those brigades to Afghanistan along with 2,000 enabler troops. An additional aviation brigade is slated to arrive in March. Combined with today's announcement, that would mean the bulk of the troop request for Afghanistan has been met.
A Defense Department official said the administration may consider sending the balance of the additional troop request after the conclusion of the administration's various strategy reviews under way for Afghanistan and Pakistan...
I'll bet US dollars to Canadian Timbits (talk about supporting the troops!) that the Marines deploy to Regional Command South. Where they will try to do what the British, Canadians and Dutch have been unable to do: clear and then hold territory until Afghan government forces can move in and, eventually, take over. Along with, whatever one chooses to call them, tribal militias. Later on, even if all goes well, how does one get the tribal and government forces to work together?
Update: For those not aware, Stryker brigades are centred on a family of vehicles based on the same platform as the Canadian Army's LAV III, and are also made by General Dynamics Land Systems--with much of the assembly work done at their London, Ontario plant (where the LAV III is assembled).
Upperdate: The Globe and Mail--"Canada's National Newspaper"--amazingly did not carry a story reporting the US troop surge in its Feb. 18 print edition. Instead this is all one got:
...Memo to Globe: The announcement had already been made on Feb. 17; are you a newspaper or not? And this should have interested Canadian readers: the Marines are going to the south with a lot of clobber; I imagine the Stryker brigade will deploy in the south too:
The U.S. President has said that he will make Afghanistan a top foreign-policy priority, and is set to announce a major troop surge...
...the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade from Camp Lejeune, N.C., will reach southern Afghanistan this spring. The Marine unit contains infantrymen, helicopters, fighter planes and other support elements...Uppestdate: Indeed the Stryker brigade is going to the south; the current Marine Expeditionary Brigade does not equal two Strykers--but can be scaled up (via tomahawk 6):
...
All of the forces will be deployed to Regional Command South, [Pentagon spokesman Bryan] Whitman said...
Last fall, Army Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, requested an additional 30,000 troops. With the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division having already been sent in response and with the two units announced today, just one combat brigade out of his original request remains to be sent.
...[Already in Afghanistan is] a Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force composed of various units from across the service. Lejeune’s 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment serves as the infantry leg of that unit.
Larger than a MEU, but smaller than a full MEF, the MEB is a scalable, mid-sized option for the Corps. The brigade can swell to as many as 20,000 Marines [a number the Marines have contemplated], and is usually built around a reinforced rifle regiment — similar to the regimental combat teams currently deployed to Iraq — plus a composite Marine Air Group and a combat logistics regiment...
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 7:23 p.m.
3 Comments:
A Marine Expeditionary Brigade is large and packs a lot of punch.
Based around a reinforced infantry regiment (4 battalions instead of the usual 3), a MEB has everything from their own M1 tanks; heavy, medium, light artillery and TOWs. They also have their own very substantial air force of Harriers, F/A-18s, SuperCobra gunships, CH-53s, scout and medevac helicopters. They have their own organic support and headquarters units and can operate independently indefinitely.
A Stryker Brigade is also a formidable force. From Wiki: "The Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) is designed entirely around a new armored vehicle: the Stryker wheeled armored vehicle. The Stryker Brigade is organized differently than the Infantry or Heavy Brigade Combat Teams. The Stryker Brigade Combat Team will consist of three Infantry Battalions, one Cavalry Squadron, one Field Artillery Battalion, one Brigade Support Battalion, one Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company, one Network Support Company, one Military Intelligence Company, one Engineer Company, and one Anti-Tank Company. Unlike the Infantry and Heavy BCT's there is not a Brigade Special Troops Battalion nor Forward Support companies in the Brigade Support Battalion for the five manuever elements."
Combined with the also-slated very muscular and very versatile 82nd Airborne Division Aviation Brigade, this is a major commitment of serious air-ground forces that will make their presence known on the ground in southern Af-stan.
I don't think the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Af-stan will enjoy making their acquaintance this year.
(And to our French and German "allies", thanks for nothing.)
Obama policy so far is simply the old Bush Afghan policy on steroids. He has not changed the drone attack policy of Bush either.
The US has learned nothing from the Soviet experience in Afghanistan. It remains to be seen how long the US public will stand for increasing casualties and increasing expense for a fruitless cause.
And with Ken, we have yet another automaton reciting the lines they've been taught.
Ken, have you ever read The Bear Went Over The Mountain? Many of the officers and men fighting in NATO armies in Afghanistan have. I can guarantee you they know more about how the Soviets screwed up than you do, and since it's their tender asses on the line, I can guarantee you they're not eager to repeat those mistakes.
That's one of the benefits of a volunteer fighting force like Canada and yes, the dreaded Americans have: we're motivated to learn, because we're not conscripts...like the Soviets were.
And it's always instructive to see just who considers some of the most downtrodden, oppressed people on the planet not worth our effort to help them improve their situation. So much for "the world needs more Canada."
Numpty.
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