We need to be reminded form time to time that the war in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, (yes that long ago) as the US military’s Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) along with a number of coalition allies, in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US. The United Kingdom has, since 2002, had its own military operation – Operation Herrick.
Early combat operations included a mix of air strikes from land-based bombers; carrier-base fighter/attack aircraft; and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from both U.S. and British ships and submarines.
The first US troops on the ground in Afghanistan were Special Operation Forces who were sent in to engage in unconventional warfare tactics alongside Afghan opposition forces – anti-Taliban groups.
The U.S. Marine Corps established a forward operating base (FOB) and a Forward Area Refueling Point (FARP) and on 25 November 2001, USMC Task Force 58 seized Objective Rhino, a desert airstrip south of Qandahar.
Major U.S. combat forces were now committed to Afghanistan and additional heavy land forces soon followed.
Since early success in Afghanistan, the U.S. military and political effort stalled in part due to the focus on Iraq and a major part in two administrations (President Bush and initially President Obama) never understood the magnitude of the problems in Afghanistan.
President Obama now plans to send over 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan bringing the total to over 100,000.
In December 2009, the New York Times published parts of the evaluation “A Different Kind of War” as a preview on the U.S. Army’s official history of the war in Afghanistan in the period October 2001 – September 2005, due to be published by spring 2010. According to this study major planning to create long-term political, social and economic stability in Afghanistan was lacking.
It still is and will be a while before we see how much effect the additional 30,000 will make on the situation in Afghanistan.
American’s are not known for their patience as wars drag out.
It will be interesting to see how the Army and the Marine Corps evaluate the “counterinsurgency” now being waged in Afghanistan. This is the essence of a different kind of war – counterinsurgency (COIN).
More on COIN later.
