HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Troops fight boredom in the war on
terror
Al-Qaeda has dispersed and coalition soldiers are growing restless at the
absence of an enemy Jason Burke The soldier looks up, squints into
the setting sun and waves forward another truck towards the checkpoint. His
helmet, Oakley shades and M16 rifle are coated with dust. His colleagues are
slumped in the shade a few yards away. They have two hours of a 12-hour shift to
go.
'There's only one thing a man can concentrate on for that length of time,'
says Private Muller of the 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. 'And
there ain't none of that round here.' The soldiers around him smile faintly.
A sense of aimlessness has settled over Bagram airbase. Every morning and
every evening the troops jog steadily along the base's dirt roads. The nights
are filled with the rattle of live firing exercises and the howl of helicopters
overhead. But few of the 4,500 men who have been flown into this battered
Soviet-built airstrip have yet seen combat and for many time is beginning to
drag.
Yesterday Donald Rumsfeld, the American Defence Secretary, flew in to boost
morale. He told hundreds of coalition soldiers that they had been 'commissioned
by history. ' When this war is over - and it will be over - you will be able to
say, "I fought in the coalition forces in Afghanistan".'
The 69-year-old politician said that the military operation in Afghanistan
was 'a proving ground' and indicated that the war against terrorism would be
extended 'urgently'.
'The Afghan theatre has been the first battle but it won't be the last. The
existence and development of weapons of mass destruction in countries that are
on the terrorist list [Iraq, Iran and North Korea] means we have to do our task
[urgently] before the terrorists get their hands on [them].'
But Rumsfeld's failure to mention Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda or the Taliban
reinforced the growing sense that the aims of the British and American military
operation in Afghanistan are being subtly redefined in the face of unexpected
difficulties. Instead, he explained the troops' task as ensuring that
Afghanistan can develop economically and politically so the country would not
become a haven for terrorists in the future.
Senior British officers in Afghanistan and the UK are echoing Rumsfeld's
change of emphasis. They now say that denying al-Qaeda and former Taliban
elements a chance to rally and recuperate for a spring offensive is as important
an objective as destroying them - a significant retreat from the objectives that
were originally outlined for Britain's biggest combat deployment since the Gulf
War when it was first announced nearly three months ago.
The focus is now rapidly shifting to Pakistan where many al-Qaeda elements
are hiding. Yesterday American troops hunting Jalaluddin Haqqani, a senior
Taliban commander and al-Qaeda supporter, stormed a religious school near the
Pakistani border city of Peshawar in the first such overt operation of the war.
Local tribesmen reacted angrily. Yesterday the American General Tommy Franks, in
charge of the operation in Afghanistan, admitted that his special forces were
operating on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan frontier.
It now appears that British and American military planners underestimated the
difficulties of searching out and destroying their enemy. British military
sources have admitted that, faced with an elusive enemy in a huge expanse of
rugged and remote terrain, it is hard to find targets that might justify
deploying large numbers of the 1,700 Royal Marines who have arrived in
Afghanistan in recent weeks.
'Al-Qaeda have broken up and gone underground,' one UK defence source close
to special forces operations said. 'We have got a big, highly trained, well
equipped hammer and currently can't find a decent sized nail to hit.'
Both British and American soldiers have spoken to The Observer about their
growing frustration. 'We are pulling guard shifts or shifting sandbags and don't
even get any time for physical training. We are all getting out of shape,' one
private soldier from the American 101st Airborne said. 'I am not keen to stop a
bullet but I do want to do what I have trained for.'
Others are more gung-ho. 'We are here to kill people and not doing it is
getting kind of tedious,' said one sergeant with the 10th Mountain division.
There are even peace symbols appearing as graffiti around the base.
Brigadier Roger Lane, who commands most of the British combat troops in
Afghanistan, told The Observer he would consider his mission a success if he
could deny al-Qaeda and former Taliban elements the chance to regroup.
Lane said he was operating within a 'broader strategic context' and said that
political stability in Afghanistan was very important. Retaining the sympathy of
local people was 'a key factor', he said.
But there are concerns that prolonging operations might jeopardise the effort
to win 'hearts and minds'. Late on Friday night three rockets were fired at the
headquarters of the British-led peacekeeping force in Kabul. On Thursday,
unidentified attackers fired a rocket at a troop position in the eastern Afghan
city of Khost.
Some troops, however, are grateful for the lack of action. One 101st Airborne
private who had recently arrived at Bagram from the southern desert city of
Kandahar admitted: 'You can't move down there without something being shot at
you. This is a lot more relaxing.'
--------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ |
