WORLD> Middle East
|
WORLD> Middle East
|
|
Related
US finds Iraq tactics don't work in Afghan war
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-13 11:14 When the Taliban does take on the Marines, it's a different kind of fight, Marines said. For one, the Taliban 'll wait until they're ready, not just when an opportunity appears. They'll clear the area of women and children, not use them as shields. And when the attack comes, it's often a full-scale attack, with flanks, trenches and a plan, said one Marine captain and Iraq veteran who asked not to be identified because he wasn't sure he was allowed to discuss tactics. Afghans "are willing to fight to the death. They recover their wounded, just like we do," said the captain. "When I am fighting here, I am fighting a professional army. If direct fighting does not work, they will go to an IED. They plan their ammunition around poppy season. To fight them, you are pulling every play out of the playbook." US troops also are frustrated by the different rules of engagement they must operate under in Afghanistan . Until Jan. 1 , US forces in Iraq operated under their own rules of engagement. If they saw something suspicious, they could kick down a door, search a home or detain a suspicious person. But in Afghanistan , they operate under the rules of the NATO -led International Security Assistance Force, of which US troops are part. Under those regulations, only Afghans can search buildings and detain people. Gilreath felt that frustration shortly after he spotted the trailing motorcycle. Radio chatter mentioned a local bomb-making factory, though it didn't say where. Gilreath decided to investigate two nearby homes. Trailing behind was one Afghan police truck, the only one available that day. The Marines secured the perimeter and the handful of Afghan police officers searched one clay structure, then the other. But they moved slowly. Some Marines started peeking the windows, doing their best to honor ISAF rules and still satisfy their urge to search. As the burka-clad women huddled with their children outside, and the men tried to assure the Marines they were law abiding, a single Afghan man began walking off through a nearby field. There weren't enough Afghan police to both search the homes and stop the man. "We just need more everything," Gilreath said afterward.
|
