David Barno
Posted on 02/17/2004 9:56:05 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 — The commander of American-led forces in Afghanistan said Tuesday that the military had adopted new tactics to combat Taliban and Al Qaeda militants in the country.
The officer, Lt. Gen. David W. Barno of the Army, said that in the past three months, American units down to the level of 40-soldier platoons had been dispatched to live in villages where they can forge ties with tribal elders and glean better information about the location and activities of guerrillas.
In the past, he said, American forces typically gathered intelligence about hostile forces, carried out focused raids for several days against those targets, then returned to base to plan and prepare for their next mission.
"What we're doing is moving to a more classic counterinsurgency strategy here in Afghanistan," General Barno told reporters at the Pentagon in a videoconference from his headquarters in Kabul, the capital. "That's a fairly significant change in terms of our tactical approach out there on the ground."
The approach, he said, will give soldiers "great depth of knowledge, understanding, and much better intelligence access to the local people in those areas by owning, as it were, those chunks of territory."
General Barno and other American officials have boasted that Osama bin Laden, the elusive leader of Al Qaeda, will be captured this year. He refused to repeat this assertion, though he said, "We have a very, very high priority in bringing to justice here the leadership of each of the terrorist organizations that we face."
General Barno said the new strategy had already paid dividends: Afghan civilians have reported more insurgents' weapons caches in the past month than had been turned in during the past half year.
The shift in tactics comes in response to a growing number of attacks against foreign aid workers, Afghan civilians and others associated with the government of President Hamid Karzai, which General Barno said were aimed at disrupting the fitful reconstruction efforts.
The new strategy also seeks to complement a renewed effort by the United States, NATO and other allies to expand the number of teams of soldiers and civilians who will fan out beyond Kabul and assist local authorities with security and rebuilding.
General Barno said that by the end of this week, 12 of those "provincial reconstruction teams" would be operating. Britain, Italy, Turkey and Norway agreed earlier this month to lead four additional NATO teams by this summer.
The teams consist of 60 to 100 people, are tailored to a region's specific needs, and have become the linchpin of the coalition's efforts to rebuild Afghanistan while staving off guerrilla attacks.
General Barno said the allies, in concert with the Karzai government, are forming what he called regional development zones, essentially areas that encompass more than one of the provincial teams.
More than 13,000 American and other allied troops are operating in Afghanistan alongside a 5,500-member NATO peacekeeping force in and around Kabul. American forces are also trying to integrate 5,700 members of the new Afghan Army and several hundred newly trained Afghan police officers into the security arrangements.
General Barno, a West Point graduate who assumed command last October, said cooperation with Pakistani forces on the Afghan border had increased, especially in the past six to eight weeks. American officials say they believe that Mr. Bin Laden is hiding in the mountainous border region.
Using a harsh, century-old British method, Pakistani forces have handed local tribal leaders a list of villages suspected of sheltering members of Al Qaeda. If the tribe refuses to hand over the suspects, the Pakistani Army threatens to punish the group as a whole, withdrawing funds or demolishing houses.
"That they're confronting the tribal elders and they're holding them accountable for activities in their areas of influence is a major step forward," General Barno said.
He said he meets in Pakistan with his counterparts at least once a month (his next visit is planned for Wednesday), and every four to six weeks he invites Pakistani and Afghan officials to meet at his headquarters to discuss security issues.
The general said the group had set up a committee to deal with border issues and another to address military information and coordination.
General Barno said American and Pakistani forces were cooperating to create a "hammer and anvil" strategy, in which forces on one side of the border drive Al Qaeda members across the border to troops waiting on the other side, a tactic that will "crush the Al Qaeda elements between the Pakistani and the coalition forces."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Using a harsh, century-old British method, Pakistani forces have handed local tribal leaders a list of villages suspected of sheltering members of Al Qaeda. If the tribe refuses to hand over the suspects, the Pakistani Army threatens to punish the group as a whole, withdrawing funds or demolishing houses. (not winning hearts and minds)
...General Barno said American and Pakistani forces were cooperating to create a "hammer and anvil" strategy, in which forces on one side of the border drive Al Qaeda members across the border to troops waiting on the other side, a tactic that will "crush the Al Qaeda elements between the Pakistani and the coalition forces."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Something's different in Afghanistan over the past few weeks:
8 1-501 nets 'big fish' ~ Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan ~ United States Army, Pacific | 2/06/04 | Sgt. Jeff Troth
More on yesterday's briefing:
8 Special Department Of Defense Briefing on Provincial Reconstruction Teams In Afghanistan ~ DoD | 2/17/04 | Lt. Gen. David Barno, Col. Mike Perry
8 Tactics Changing for Both Coalition Forces, Terrorists in Afghanistan ~ DoD-AFPS | 2/17/04 | Kathleen T. Rhem
--------------------------------------------
Thanks for the head's up, Coop.
The noose gets a little tighter.
This particular tactic is not promising. The code of Pushtunwali requires the tribe to provide hospitality and sanctuary (it also obligates the visitor not to bring smoke upon the tribe, which may be what Barno and the Paks are counting on).
The tactic of inkspotting platoons around the nation is similar to the Marines' very very successful "CAP" program in Vietnam, adapted to Afghan realities a bit.
The various guys heading up the Afghan advanture, LTG McNeill and the unfortunate LTG Vines before Barno, have not been extremely tuned in to counterinsurgency. (OTOH I know an officer who served with McNeill years ago and considers him the finest officer he ever met, period, full stop. I also witnessed a remarkable act of leadership by him). Sounds at first blush that Barno hit the books or got some specialist advice.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Read it again...... we have them pinpointed to certain villages......that is good intelligence.
Count on it. (^:
Stay safe!
David Barno
Strategery in action. Tightening the noose.
No doubt.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.