The Marines have landed

Hundreds of U.S. Troops Land 12 Miles From Taliban Stronghold

By JAMES DAO

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 — Hundreds of marines landed at a makeshift airfield near the southern city of Kandahar today in the first major infusion of American ground troops into Afghanistan. Their arrival began what Pentagon officials said would be a period of sustained assaults against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces.

The marines were to be the front edge of a powerful force of more than 1,000 combat troops who, the officials said, are likely to join the hunt for Osama bin Laden within days and then begin raids against Taliban forces concentrated in Kandahar and in mountain redoubts near the border with Pakistan.

Immediately upon landing in CH- 53 and CH-46 transport helicopters, the marines set to work securing the airstrip southwest of Kandahar, the Taliban's political base and last major military stronghold. The officials said C-130 cargo planes carrying additional troops, armored vehicles and supplies were expected to begin landing at the field within 24 hours.

They said the advance party of marines, members of the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units, encountered no resistance when they landed shortly after nightfall. It appeared that their arrival was welcomed by local leaders opposed to the Taliban.

The arrival of the marines unambiguously confirmed the shift in the American strategy from using air power and proxy Afghan armies to oust the Taliban from power to relying on powerful American forces which can, as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld put it, "crawl around on the ground and find people." Even in that role, though, the marines will still receive heavy air support, as well as assistance from Western allies.

Before today, there had been a few hundred American ground troops in Afghanistan, and almost all were Special Operations forces. Those troops had been advising rebel militias, helping to direct airstrikes and working in small teams to watch and sometimes harass Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. Aside from a brief air assault in October by commandos who parachuted onto a runway near Kandahar and raided a Taliban building there, the only sustained use of American troops on the ground has involved Special Forces advisers traveling with the Northern Alliance.

The marines who have now taken up positions are a different kind of force entirely. They bring superior firepower — including armored personnel carriers, Super Cobra attack helicopters and Harrier jump jets — and are more mobile, able to sustain and repeat assaults across a much larger geographic area, Pentagon officials said.

They can, for example, respond quickly and in relatively large numbers if they have a chance to encircle mountain hideouts and search them for Taliban or Al Qaeda leaders. They will also put the kind of pressure on enemy forces still in and around Kandahar that would be beyond any threat posed by Special Operations forces or the anti-Taliban militias mustered so far by Pashtun leaders in that region.

In total, the two Marine units based on ships in the Arabian Sea have about 4,400 troops, basically a brigade of ground forces with its own helicopters, attack jets and artillery. It is not clear how many of them will eventually go ashore. The units are based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The marines are trained for both conventional ground combat and special operations, guerrilla-style warfare, making them available not only for attacking concentrations of Taliban troops but also for moving in small groups to pursue Mr. bin Laden and his top lieutenants across rugged terrain.

The marines would probably not roam the countryside in search of enemy forces, as Special Operations forces have been, but would instead be dispatched on clearly focused missions guided by clear and credible intelligence reports, military officials said.

The marines landed on a day when dozens of American warplanes continued to attack Taliban positions in and around Kandahar, as well as networks of caves and bunkers south of Jalalabad, an area where concentrations of Al Qaeda fighters have been spotted in recent days.

There have been reports that Mr. bin Laden was seen last week at a fortified encampment 35 miles southwest of Jalalabad, in an area between Kabul and the Pakistan border. Northern Alliance officials have said Mr. bin Laden is protected by as many as 2,000 non-Afghan fighters.

Pentagon officials said today they could not say for sure where Mr. bin Laden was hiding. But they noted that American planes have been striking Taliban training bases and cave complexes south of Jalalabad almost since the bombing campaign began exactly seven weeks ago.

In another sign of the Pentagon's thinking about Mr. bin Laden's whereabouts, American planes on Saturday scattered thousands more leaflets offering a $25 million reward for information leading to the Al Qaeda leader's capture near Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Ghanzi, southwest of Kabul.

On Saturday, American warplanes struck at a Taliban command and control center between Kabul and Ghanzi, the Pentagon said.

While much attention has been focused on the battle for Kunduz, the Taliban's last stronghold in the north, forces opposed to the Taliban have been encircling Kandahar, taking positions in the mountains to the northeast and seizing the airfield to the southwest.

More than 20,000 Taliban fighters are thought to be massing in Kandahar, though their numbers have dwindled with defections. Military officials have expressed concerns that non-Afghan fighters are slipping out of Northern Alliance-held territory to regroup and possibly form guerrilla units.

The marines who landed in Afghanistan today had, until late last week, been aboard amphibious assault ships in the Arabian Sea. Each Marine Expeditionary Unit includes 600 to 800 infantrymen and typically travels with transport helicopters, command and control helicopters, helicopter gunships and jets capable of takeoffs on short runways and vertical landings.

Japanese Military Support

TOKYO, Nov. 25 (AP) — Three Japanese warships left port today to support the American-led campaign in Afghanistan under a new law that loosens post-World War II restrictions on Japan's military.

The supply ship Towada left carrying about 130 troops, while the minesweeper Uraga left with 110 sailors aboard, and the destroyer Sawagiri sailed with about 200 sailors.

The deployment is the first time since World War II that the Japanese military has been used to support forces engaged in combat. Ten years ago, Japan sent minesweepers to the Persian Gulf war, but they arrived after the fighting was over.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/26/international/asia/26MILI.html

You know you're in trouble when the Japs come out to play...

 

Some interesting stuff on how our SF have been faring:

Here are two situation reports U.S. Special Forces soldiers sent from Afghanistan. The dispatches testify to the role the men have played and will play in the campaign in Afghanistan.

25 October, somewhere in Afghanistan:

"I am advising a man on how to best employ light infantry and horse cavalry in the attack against Taliban T-55s (tanks) ... mortars, artillery, personnel carriers and machine guns -- a tactic which I think became outdated with the introduction of the Gatling gun. (The Mujahadeen) have done this every day we have been on the ground. They have attacked with 10 rounds AK's per man, with PK gunners (snipers) having less than 100 rounds ... little water and less food. I have observed a PK gunner who walked 10-plus miles to get to the fight, who was proud to show me his artificial right leg from the knee down. ...

"We have witnessed the horse cavalry bounding overwatch from spur to spur to attack Taliban strong points -- the last several kilometers under mortar, artillery ... and PK fire. There is little medical care if injured, only a donkey ride to the aid station, which is a dirt hut.

I think (the Mujahadeen) are doing very well with what they have. They have killed over 125 Taliban ... while losing only eight.

"We couldn't do what we are (doing) without the close air support. Everywhere I go the civilians and Mujahadeen soldiers are always telling me they are glad the USA has come. They all speak of their hopes for a better Afghanistan once the Taliban are gone. Better go. (The local commander) is finishing his phone call with (someone back in the States)."

The soldier then went off and joined a cavalry attack on a Taliban position.

10 November, somewhere in Afghanistan:

"Departed position from which I spoke to you last night ... (We left) on horse and linked up with the remainder of (the element). I had meeting with (the commander). ... We then departed from our initial linkup location and rode into Mazar-e Sharif on begged, borrowed and confiscated transportation.

"While it looked like a rag-tag procession, the morale into Mazar-e Sharif was a triumphal procession. All locals loudly greeted us and thanked all Americans. Much waving, cheering and clapping even from the women. ...USN/USAF did a great job."

"I am very proud of these men who have performed exceptionally well under very extreme conditions. I have personally witnessed heroism under fire by (two U.S. NCOs - - one Army, one Air Force) when we came under fire last night, which was less than 50 meters from me. When I ordered them to call close air support, they did so immediately without flinching even though they were under fire. As you know, a U.S. element was nearly overrun four days ago and continued to call close air support and ensured (Mujahadeen) forces did not suffer a defeat. These two examples are typical of the performance of your soldiers and airmen. Truly uncommon valor has been a common virtue amongst these men."

http://www.sftt.org/article11202001_02.html

 

Ottomaton:

It's a Soviet-era machine gun, but the point is that these guys will attack with extremely small amounts of ammo. 100 rounds would last less than a minute with a couple of sustained bursts. A sane man would never go into combat with such limited amounts of ammo...

 

It is a little misleading by the traditional meaning, but what was probably meant was that it is fired from a stationary position, and likely in very short bursts considering the ammo supply. You don't have the same mobility you have with an assault rifle. No, it's not a sniping weapon...

I think these guys really needed our help.