Special forces eliminate 300 Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders, says General David Petraeus

Special forces eliminate 300 Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders, says General David Petraeus

www.telegraph.co.uk

Gen Petraeus said the men were “important figures” and the “so-called jackpot” targets of operations conducted by British and American special forces.

He said the population of Kabul had increased from a million in 2001 to 5 million, living in “relative security,” and military forces were attempting to create a “security bubble” around the major population centres in Helmand and Kandahar.

(visit the link for the full news article)

By the 6th of September, at least 65 out of 240 Taliban commanders had been removed from the field. Men with apt codenames such as Merlin and Snowball.

From June - September, the number of IEDs used by the Taliban in Helmand had been cut by a quarter, mainly attributed to the targeting of bomb-making factories by the UKSF detachment formerly known as TF42.

Using techniques pioneered in Iraq, Coalition Special Forces are killing Taliban fighters on an industrial level and this report shows that they do not intend on slowing down. The idea is to force them into negotiations, rather than to exterminate them altogether, but to continually escalate the campaign against them so that their fight seems all but futile and their defeat inevitable. Evidence indicates that the war in Afghanistan is beginning to turn against the Taliban in a spectacular fashion.

However, there is likely to be a section that continues to see violence as the way forward, as is usually the case with insurgent groups and there is a danger of splinter group being formed. It is hoped that Taliban leaders hold more of a sway over their followers than your average insurgent group and that a widespread ceasefire will be accepted.

Even better, once a significant number of Taliban leaders have accepted a ceasefire they are unlikely to sympathize with those who have not followed their orders, indeed it will be extremely embarrassing for them to have lost control. Due to this, it is likely that a wealth of information will be offered to help mop up those who still wish to fight.

www.telegraph.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Make them pay for 911!

I wonder if there were any civillian casulties? Or any other Aid workers killed. Seems to be the norm nowadays with the Special Forces. Kill an Aid worker and Lie about it.

Make them pay, not for 911 (I doubt they have something with that), but for the brutal theocratic regime they fight for (make no mistake, they dont fight for liberty of afghan people, only for ressurection of taliban regime and its atrocities). I dont agree with war in Iraq, but I fully support fight against Taliban in Afghanistan. You dont negotiate with terrorists and religious fundamentalists. Glad to see the effort brings fruits

Originally posted by Laurauk
Seems to be the norm nowadays with the Special Forces. Kill an Aid worker and Lie about it.

One special forces soldier in one special forces unit of one country kills an aid worker through the negligent use of a fragmentation grenade and suddenly it's the norm for special forces all over the world?

One US-led soldier has been killed and another sustained injuries in a mortar attack in Ghazni province in eastern Afghanistan. www.military-world.net...

The increasing number of troop casualties in Afghanistan has sparked widespread anger in the US and other NATO member states, undermining public support for the continuation of the Afghan war.

KABUL, Afghanistan: Three NATO troops were killed Friday in Afghanistan in a surge of attacks that raised the death toll to 17 over the past three days for international troops in the country. arabnews.com...

ANP lawmaker killed, eight injured in suicide blast: DPO
'Pakistan Times' Bureau Report
www.pakistantimes.net...

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN : At least five Pakistani soldiers were killed on Friday when suspected members of the Taliban attacked a military post in the northwest region of the country, near the Afghan border, officials said. www.newkerala.com...

QUETTA/LANDIKOTAL: Three people were killed in attacks on NATO containers in Takhta Bag Jamrud and Kalat. The driver of a NATO container was shot dead by unidentified men near Mangochar in Kalat district. The helper was injured in the attack. The attackers managed to escape. Separately, security forces stopped NATO supply trucks’ movement from Takhta Bag to the Torkham border on Friday following an attack on a NATO container in Takhta Bag Jamrud the previous night. The driver and conductor of the vehicle had been killed in the attack. staff report www.dailytimes.com.pk...\10\16\story_16-10-2010_pg1_2

these reports are recent and not for 3 months old...I think David Petraeus might be about propaganda , you know hey good news we killed 300 targets ..How many might have been civilians we may only find out once wikileaks releases the doc's .... peace

Originally posted by the2ofusr1
David Petraeus might be about propaganda , you know hey good news we killed 300 targets ..How many might have been civilians we may only find out once wikileaks releases the doc's .... peace

You could kill 300 Taliban on one reasonably good day; it doesn't mean that you would make an announcement about it.

Civilians are not placed on the JPEL and these targets were all on the JPEL.

Petraeus Launches Afghan Air Assault; Strikes Up 172 Percent
By Noah Shachtman
October 12, 2010


Read More www.wired.com...
There’s once again a full-blown air war over Afghanistan. Last month, NATO attack planes dropped their bombs and fired their guns on 700 separate missions, according to U.S. Air Force statistics. That’s more than double the 257 attack sorties they flew in September 2009, and one of the highest single-month totals of the entire nine-year Afghan campaign.



In late June, after Gen. David Petraeus took command of the Afghan war effort from McChrystal, there was speculation that the new boss might undo some of the restrictions. It wasn’t just that McChrystal’s rules had made it beyond-tough for troops to call in airstrikes — even when they were under enemy attack. Petraeus’ history in Iraq also suggested a greater willingness to bomb adversaries, despite the concerns about civilian casualties. Lethal, munitions-dropping sorties more-than-quadrupled under Petraeus’ leadership.

"You could kill 300 Taliban on one reasonably good day; it doesn't mean that you would make an announcement about it.

Civilians are not placed on the JPEL and these targets were all on the JPEL


I wonder how many Taliban or Al-Qaeda would be added to the list if you did a follow up . I mean how can they drop bombs on target sites ,kill a bunch of people, and claim 300 special kills . What about the civilian and others in the area . Maybe I am missing the just of the story ..I know there is not much that makes allot of sense to me in that war....peace

reply to post by the2ofusr1


Yep you're missing part of the story; or rather the news article headline is misleading. If they are on the "capture or kill" JPEL then every effort must be made to capture them and killing them really is a last resort.

I'm not going to say that drone strikes or JDAMs etc weren't used or that no civilians were harmed in the process of hunting these people because unfortunately it happens, but civilian deaths will be even rarer than they are normally.

My point is that raids with men on the ground are by far preferable here and will make up the majority of the strikes, because it gives you the option of capturing them if possible and you really, really want to capture such important figures.

WTF!

wheres my post gone lol.

I cant even remember what i even said now. Never mind. It had a link to the RUSI site. Its got a few interviews people might be interested in.

www.rusi.org...

It seams like 2010 has been Taliban year of causing 49.4 US death pr month. At total of over 500 US and allied deaths this year. And we still have two months to go.

Don't tell me we are winning this war because we are not. 2010 has been our worst year since 2001. Maybe that is why we suddenly want to talk with the Taliban. We better bargain with these people before they make fools out of this great army.

reply to post by spy66

Maybe that is why we suddenly want to talk with the Taliban.

Suddenly? You think that this is a recent thing? Even right after the Taliban were removed from power, anyone with any brain cells at all knew that negotiations would be necessary at some point.

The Taliban have always been pushing for negotiations, right?

Originally posted by Soshh
reply to post by spy66

 

Maybe that is why we suddenly want to talk with the Taliban.

Suddenly? You think that this is a recent thing? Even right after the Taliban were removed from power, anyone with any brain cells at all knew that negotiations would be necessary at some point.

The Taliban have always been pushing for negotiations, right?

The Taliban have no reason to negotiate with us. It is we who need to negotiate with them.

Yet we're no where close to ending this war.
Serious 300 here? How many leaders do we need to kill to end the war.

I don't get it.

Is this supposed to be a celebration. Is this a 'pat one another on the back with a smug patriotic grin on your face' thread?

So American Spec Ops are running around a shattered 3rd world country and assassinating people. Yay? That's just so lovely.

I need more coffee.

reply to post by SyphonX


No lovely, but far better than if those criminals were still in power opressing ordinary afghans, isnt it?

reply to post by SyphonX


There's nothing wrong with celebrating this, small victory. Im sure they would have no problems celebrating after chopping my head off, if they ever got hold of me.

Thats not even what this threads about anyways. He's just bringing the article to peoples attention and inviting you to discuss it. Whats to get?

Well, I am pleased to read this. Particularly pleased that NATO are working aggressively and maintaining the initiative - both key elements in warfare.

Keep the Taliban on the back foot and show them that there is no point. If the tactic is to force the Taliban to the table then let’s hope it works.

In an article on the BBC which I heard the other day - I have not tried to find a source for – the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the a deal with the Taliban – either collectively or with individual leaders – would be conditional on disarmament, the strengthening of human rights (particularly those of women) and acceptance of security and the new scheme of things.

Regards

reply to post by Soshh


I have a very hard time believing anything coming out of the military as they don't have a good record of telling the truth and are masters of propaganda and skew the numbers/results to always favor the mission and cover up information detrimental to themselves. I was in the service; I know how it works.

Don't let your ideology get in the way of your common sense.