Posted on 02/23/2008 1:38:32 PM PST by Stoat
Satisfied ... Brigadier Andrew Mackay
FEROCIOUS fighting by British troops in Afghanistan has brought the Taliban to its knees, top brass reveal.
An onslaught throughout 2007 in Helmand province smashed the fanatics’ supply lines.
The Taliban are very low on fighters and are using foreigners for attacks.
The remaining foot soldiers have been forced out to remote regions. Brigadier Andrew Mackay, in charge of all 7,800 Brit forces in the province, said: “The Taliban are definitely worn down.
Brave ... British troops in Afghanistan
“In a pure tactical military context, 2007 was an extremely satisfying year for us. They are suffering from a lack of man-power and operating outside of their normal areas because they lack support from local populations.
“There is a dislocation between their senior command in Quetta and soldiers in southern Afghanistan, who have been living in pretty uncomfortable conditions and enduring a tough winter.”
Thousands of the Taliban have been killed in the past 12 months, which has seen some of the most intense combat faced by British troops since World War Two.
But success has come at a price, with 41 of Our Boys dying in the country last year.
The Taliban have turned to suicide bombers and booby trap devices after so many defeats on the battlefield.
Two Brit soldiers have been killed in the past week by hidden bombs.
Brig Mackay added: “They are having to change their modus operandi. That is why we are seeing asymmetric attacks and suicide bombings.
“These attacks preserve the position of the Taliban on local news agendas.
"But they are pretty damaging to their interests in terms of support at a tribal level.”
Cpl Damian Lawrence, 25, of the 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, died on Sunday after stepping on a mine during a patrol on Sunday.
Then on Wednesday, Cpl Damian Mulvihill, 32, from 40 Commando was killed when a bomb tore through his Viking armoured vehicle.
A car bomb and suicide bomber also struck in next door Kandahar province earlier this week killing 140 locals.
What a revealing view of the war from the perspectice of the troops on the front lines. From this we could see there was absolutely no animosity by the British troops towards the USAF pilots after the friendly fire incident, just continued gratitude and respect for the allied pilots and their contributions.
It was riveting. We never see reporting like this because it takes too much effort and does not fit the PMSNBCBSFOX story line/politics or news budget. The closest we get to this type of news reporting is the fictional crap turned out by Hollywood.
Ha! I love that crest! By Strength and Guile, indeed!
You may have already seen them, but episodes one, two, three and five of this series are also available at the link you posted (each divided into five parts like the episode you posted). They are all outstanding bits of journalism I think: covering the unit from training to deployment.
Cheers,
UK
Thanks for posting this article. It looks like the Taliban are on the back foot, despite only a few NATO allies being ready to deploy their troops to this dangerous area. With the British Paras and US Marines deploying together in the region soon, progress with hopefully continue to be made!
Coincidentally, today the NYT published it’s take on US forces action Afganistan. (The NYT is, of course, most concerned that US troops are killing civilians.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/magazine/24afghanistan-t.html
You're quite welcome and I'm delighted that you've found it to be worthwhile :-)
It is truly wonderful, isn't it? :-)
It's great to know that the essential tenets of warfighting are still embraced :-)
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