Battle for Kandahar, Heart of Afghanistan's Taliban Country

Battle for Kandahar, Heart of Afghanistan's Taliban Country

abcnews.go.com

Since arriving in Afghanistan one year ago, Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his staff have had their eye on one prize above all others: the southern province of Kandahar , the ancient fault line between civilizations where the Soviet Union lost its final battles, the Afghan Taliban was born, and where the group first reemerged after the U.S. invasion.
PHOTO Since arriving in Afghanistan one year ago, Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his staff have had their eye on one prize above all others: the southern province of Kandahar.
A U.S. Army soldier with the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regi

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"Our intent is to take away from [the Taliban] access to the population where they are traditionally strongest. And that will take away from them some of their credibility as well as recruiting, funding, access to narcotics," McChrystal told ABC News in a March interview. "It won't be decisive. But it's a pretty severe blow to them if they lose what we would consider their most important area."

But the risks are high!

The campaign is the most significant test of the new American counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and if it fails in any way, risks further alienating a skeptical population that is desperate for security.

"We've got a few months," says one senior military official who has helped plan the campaign, "to make a giant difference."

Unlike the Marja operation, where U.S. Marines invaded an area, cleared it of a few hundred Taliban, and set up a government and an economy largely from scratch, the U.S. Army will not roll its armored vehicles into the city of 1 million residents. That has to be left to the Afghan police, which is still struggling to find autonomy.

This appears to be a huge undertaking and a large risk! The US and the Afghanis are attempting a major invasion and take over of the traditional Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. Most important, the U.S. Army will not roll its armored vehicles into the city of 1 million residents. That has to be left to the Afghan police, which is still struggling to find autonomy.

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the problem is the same we had in vietnam, we can take any piece of land we want, target any individual facility, but once we do and leave they retake it. sounds funny but look at it this way, the next few months are great sucess for the military and we hold kandahar for a few years, just as long as they survive and go underground they can retake the land 5 years from now, 10 years from now 100 years from now or 300 years from now. we only got the stomach for this war another 2 years max and they know it. we cant control every village in every mountain top in that country! we cant even do that in our own country!

reply to post by jakemil

the problem is the same we had in vietnam, we can take any piece of land we want, target any individual facility, but once we do and leave they retake it. sounds funny but look at it this way, the next few months are great sucess for the military and we hold kandahar for a few years

Long term goals? Probably not important, Obama just wants to appear successful and get out, right? His base is important!

However, should this operation be successful as it probably will, there will be a major power shift in the region which will remain as long as Karzai is in power. Taliban power is not rising, due to lack of leaders.

Originally posted by jakemil
the problem is the same we had in vietnam, we can take any piece of land we want, target any individual facility, but once we do and leave they retake it. sounds funny but look at it this way, the next few months are great sucess for the military and we hold kandahar for a few years, just as long as they survive and go underground they can retake the land 5 years from now, 10 years from now 100 years from now or 300 years from now. we only got the stomach for this war another 2 years max and they know it. we cant control every village in every mountain top in that country! we cant even do that in our own country!

Usually I'd find myself agreeing with that sentiment, but I highly doubt that we are going to leave Afghanistan without making sure they can tend to their poppy fields. The Taliban will never accept a position as "stooge to the imperialists", so they have to go.

We have been holding this area for the last several years. Since we joined the combat role in Afghanistan, that is where Canadians have been fighting. It is about bloody time we got some serious back up.

We have been trying to hold that district pretty much by our selves for five years with a rotation 1200 combat soldiers and 2800 total troops.

between there and Helmand province, we have been at the heart of the fighting. I hope what ever this strategy entails, it gets our boys some much needed help.