What are the Marines doing?
The UK TV programme - Panorama - The Battle for Bomb Alley aired recently in the UK. (and can be viewed here)
It is essentially about Marine efforts in Sangin where in this piece the marines clear a route to an old Brit base (which they abandoned when they arrived) to reoccupy it (and in so doing bulldoze a bunch of houses to widen the route).
It indicates a brute strength and ignorance approach which can hardly be to seen to be pop-centric - so one must wonder what has changed?
We hear the Marine company commander explaining in a very Vietnam-esque way:
Quote:
I know that most people in the world probably wouldn't understand the way we are trying to build the country up by destroying it and it seems like its a paradox but those are people who have not been to Afghanistan and don't understand that the nature of conflict inevitably includes disruption until you can build it the way it should be.
So in this area of Sangin (at least) the pop-centric stuff flies out the window... and why (it is legitimate to ask) are the Marines reoccupying abandoned Brit bases that they mocked the Brits for establishing in the first place?
Momentum in Helmand is 'shifting'
Having watched - thanks to JMA's post - the UK TV programme - Panorama - The Battle for Bomb Alley and the linked on You Tube earlier programme on Olaf Schmid, an EOD NCO killed last year I was pessimistic on what was reported.
'The Battle for Bomb Alley' reported that in Sangin the USMC took three days to move 900m due to IEDs along a road to a former UK base.
As if my magic today the BBC has an upbeat report, citing the current UK brigade CO:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12445041
Nearly a month ago there was a radio interview with Robert Fox, ex-BBC, which offers a more balanced view:http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today...00/9370378.stm
Dead Men Risen: Rupert Thorneloe, the hero who spoke out
An article reflected a new book by the author, which opens with:
Quote:
The first battalion commander to be killed in action since 1982 was critical of the equipment and strategy in Afghanistan, but was determined to lead his men by example. Toby Harnden reveals the truth behind Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe’s death and the system that failed him.
Ends with the widow's comment:
Quote:
If you are going to send an army to war, the government of the day should ensure that they are properly equipped...You can’t, and you shouldn’t, cut corners. It doesn’t work and we’ve seen the results.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/b...spoke-out.html
The author has written an excellent book on 'The Troubles' and this book should be good.
I still do not think the government today, let alone the previous Labour government, realise how deep an impact the Afghan War has made on the UK public and in particular their trust & confidence in the policy decisions made. Public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to the UK's military role in Afghanistan.
Way back was this post:Following the death of Lt.Col. Thorneloe, once a student of his Professor Richard Holmes (once a TA / Reserve Army brigadier) has written this savage IMHO attack on the UK lack of a strategy: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle6652496.ece
Dead Men Risen: The death of Lieutenant Mark Evison
Part 2 of 3 and Mark Evison's mother IIRC published his letters after his death, so maybe here already. Sub-title reads:
Quote:
With supreme bravery, Welsh Guardsmen fought to get their grievously wounded commander back to their remote Helmand base. Then they faced an agonising wait for a helicopter as his life slipped away.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/b...rk-Evison.html
Part 2 of 3 is different:
Quote:
Operating from a remote patrol base in Helmand, two British snipers were responsible for killing 75 Taliban fighters in just 40 days. In one remarkable feat of marksmanship, two insurgents were dispatched with a single bullet.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/b...ers-story.html
Old thread re Evison's letters:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=8062 and a link to his letters: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/5...ghanistan.html
Dead Men Risen: first edition pulped
In a strange, if predictable official response the first edition's total print run was purchased by the UK MoD and pulped.
Quote:
According to the MoD, “at a late stage the text of the book was found to contain information that could damage national security and put at risk the lives of members of the Armed Forces”.
Let’s set aside for the moment the fact that the “late stage” was when the book had been printed, after being OKed by the MoD following a four-month review, and deconstruct this statement.
Apparently the Estonian government was upset - Stan any comment?
Quote:
..it wanted to avoid a certain Nato ally pulling out of Helmand.
(Added later). The passage Estonia did not like published:http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/to...you-to-read-1/
And as Major (Retd) John Thorneloe, 88, Lt Col Thorneloe’s father, said recently:
Quote:
Too bad if it makes uncomfortable reading for the Ministry of Defence and Her Majesty’s Government.
And Toby Harnden now says:
Quote:
In the spirit of Maj Thorneloe’s words, from tomorrow I’ll post an example each day of a specific thing that the MoD did not want you to read but does in fact appear in the book.
Excellent work by the MoD press officers and those who agreed to this approach.:eek:
Two links, a newspaper story:http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/to...gn=harnden1503 and a more detailed account:http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/al...-the-mod.thtml
Coalition forces in Helmand claim insurgents defeat
A BBC Newsnight report I missed tonight, which starts with:
Quote:
In the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province in Afghanistan, coalition forces are not declaring victory - but they are saying they have defeated the insurgents.
Remarks by the outgoing battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Colin Weir, of the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, are simply the most upbeat of a raft of recent statements emerging from the troubled Afghan province that suggest a corner has been turned.
Ends with:
Quote:
The resumption of the fighting season will, almost certainly, see some kind of increase in attacks on British troops in Nad-e Ali. It is a question of how much of a rise it is though.
As for the longer term, many harbour serious doubts about the ability of the Afghan government and police to build on security there.
The district police have a woeful history of feuding with locals, drug use, and robbery. They are also 40% under strength.
So while operations may have become less risky for British soldiers, they are certainly not going to be easy.
Link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...ht/9447752.stm and the film report (12 mins):http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12981618
The reporter, Mark Urban, is usually good and was a soldier himself. Yet again outside forces have created a window of opportunity for the Afghan state, which has failed to respond. I am assuming the state has an element of capability and will.
The danger in such reporting is that when the often cited "fighting season" starts and casualties mount - for a new UK brigade - claims of 'defeat' are rarely mentioned, let alone by the government. IMHO the public can remember, as can newspaper editors and ask why?
The Battle for Helmand: Interviews with Professor Theo Farrell and MG Nick Carter
The Battle for Helmand: Interviews with Professor Theo Farrell and MG Nick Carter
Entry Excerpt:
The Battle for Helmand: Interviews with Professor Theo Farrell and MG Nick Carter
by Octavian Manea
Octavian Manea, Editor of FP Romania, the Romanian edition of Foreign Policy, continues his SWJ interview series. In this exclusive, Octavian asks Professor Theo Farrell and MG Nick Carter to describe their thoughts on the Battle for Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan.
Download The Full Article: The Battle for Helmand
--------
Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.
The UK's 'involvement was working' in summer 2010
A short article following the Scots Guards in Helmand, which ends with a rather surprising paragraph nd my emphasis:
Quote:
Major combat operations are slated to come to a close in 2014, after full transition to Afghan control - though timelines in wars don't work. In terms of resources, however, the 10,000 or so British troops stationed in Afghanistan today and the billions of pounds spent annually on the mission must represent the high-water mark of this country's involvement. In the summer of 2010 that involvement was working - at least where I witnessed it - admittedly at significant cost.
I use surprising as the article was in the New Statesman, not known for such reporting, let alone such a comment on my occasional reading.
Link:http://www.newstatesman.com/asia/201...hanistan-flank
Yes the author is writing a book and this needs to be said:
Quote:
What I saw was the best of this generation going through an experience that was unique to them, though redolent of what their forefathers had done.