U.S. In Afghanistan Firing On Pakistan

Asserting a right to self-defense, American forces in eastern Afghanistan launched artillery rounds into Pakistan to strike Taliban fighters who attack remote U.S. outposts, the commander of U.S. forces in the region said Sunday.

The skirmishes are politically sensitive because Pakistan's government, regarded by the Bush administration as an important ally against Islamic extremists, has denied that it allows U.S. forces to strike inside its territory.

The use of the largely ungoverned Waziristan area of Pakistan as a haven for Taliban and al Qaeda fighters has become a greater irritant between Washington and Islamabad since Pakistan put in place a peace agreement there in September that was intended to stop cross-border incursions.

U.S. Army Col. John W. Nicholson, commander of the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, said in an Associated Press interview that rather than halt such incursions, the peace deal has led to a substantial increase.

Pakistani border forces, which had been active in stopping Taliban incursions into Afghanistan as recently as last spring, stopped offensive actions against them once the peace deal took effect, he said.

"That did relax some of the pressure on the enemy," Nicholson said.

Members of Nicholson's brigade recently were told that instead of going home this month after a yearlong tour, they will stay for an extra four months, until June.

Nicholson told the Army's vice chief of staff, Gen. Richard Cody, that this news hit soldiers and their families hard, but that they are now adjusting well. Cody is traveling in Afghanistan.

The brigade of about 3,500 soldiers is being kept in Afghanistan because senior commanders decided they needed more forces to deal with an anticipated Taliban offensive this spring. The offensive is expected to focus not only on eastern Afghanistan but also the south, where the traditional Taliban stronghold of Kandahar is seen as a prized target. NATO forces operate in that area.

Nicholson described the fighting along the border, particularly in Afghanistan's Paktika and Khost provinces, as intense. In some cases, he said, the Taliban have crossed the border at night, using wire cutters to breach the perimeter of small U.S. outposts, "trying to get hand grenades into our bunkers."

"I mean we're talking World War I type of stuff," Nicholson said. "These are some very sharp, intense fights" initiated by an enemy he described as resilient and undeterred by superior U.S. firepower.

"They'll keep coming back," he said.

When Taliban forces on the Pakistan side of the border fire on U.S. outposts on the Afghan side, the Americans are equipped to quickly pinpoint the launch location using radar and then strike back with artillery, he said.

"We do not allow the enemy to fire with impunity on our soldiers, and we have the inherent right of self defense," he said, speaking by video teleconference from his headquarters at Jalalabad air field. "Even if those fires are coming from across the border (in Pakistan), we have the right to defense ourselves, and we exercise that right." He added later, "We do fire missions across the border."

Nicholson responded to questions from an AP reporter after the commander spoke by video teleconference with Cody.

Cody had planned to fly to Jalalabad to meet with Nicholson and other commanders but poor weather forced him to remain at Bagram, the main American air base in Afghanistan.

Nicholson told Cody that U.S. forces have made important strides this winter in persuading local Afghans to side with the U.S.-backed government and to be less accommodating to the Taliban. The Taliban have been resurgent in some parts of the country after being driven from power by U.S. forces in 2001.

Nicholson's area of responsibility includes the border provinces from Nuristan to Paktika. He said his forces are not required to get approval from Pakistan before responding to an attack. But he emphasized that efforts are made to warn Pakistani government forces along the border to clear the intended target area before U.S. artillery is launched.

"We make every effort to communicate with the Pakistan military," he said. Nicholson said the computers used to target U.S. artillery are programmed with the map coordinates of Pakistani border posts.

"If a fire mission is being called that would impact on a Pakistan border post, we typically will not shoot — we will not shoot that mission," he said.

The United States has given radios to Pakistan border posts so they can communicate with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, he said. If U.S. troops are unable to contact them directly before launching an artillery assault, an illumination round is fired first as a means of warning the Pakistanis that high explosives will follow.

[bluestardad]

This is the contact address for your Senator! Send them a message of your opinion. All Class Two Senators are up for Reelection in 2008. firststatehttp://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

[bluestardad]

We should have made it known that we would do this at the get go! Like Bush 6 years late!

[aajoshi-2009]

bush should have concentrated on pakistan instead of iraq when afghan war was over.

Love_you wrote:

"Pakistan is the trouble maker ! hit them as hard as you can .

All troubles inside USA have a source inside pakistan so if you want less trouble go hit that Pakistan ( the home of terrorists )"

GW Bush said the home of terrorists was Afghanistan.

Then it was Iraq.

Now Pakistan?

I can tell you where "real" terrorism lives - he's living in the Whitehouse.

[danlalan]

As far as the specifics of this article, the idea that any troops, anywhere, from any country are going to allow themselves to be fired upon without responding is not realistic. If the fire is coming from across the border, it is probably more prudent to use artillery than to send in troops, and while artillery is not exactly a precision weapon, this is pretty sparsely populated territory.
As to the rest of the "discussion" thread of this blog, I find myself saddened by the vitriol and demonization. Half of the US population (...the GOP and it's supporters...) are not Nazis. While the justification for invading Iraq was suspect, and it has proven itself to have been a bloody mistake in most of our minds, the same cannot be said of Afganistan. The Taliban were without a doubt harboring those responsible for 9/11 and basically dared us to do something about it. We did. Lets all hope that Afganistan (and everywhere else, for that matter) gets the chance to become a decent place for its people to live.
Did Bush make a mistake in Iraq? Most of us think so. Does that consititute a war crime? Not under US laws. We collectively had the opportunity to vote him out of office after the invasion of Iraq, and did not, more's the pity.
As to retroactively aborting those who post things others don't like....grow up, get a civil tongue, and enter the discussion like reasonable, rational human beings discussing a complex, divisive issue. Please.

[love_you-2009]

Pakistan is the trouble maker ! hit them as hard as you can .

All troubles inside USA have a source inside pakistan so if you want less trouble go hit that Pakistan ( the home of terrorists )

So, in other words, singinrick, you support the war, but you're too much of a coward to go and fight in it.

You support the war, but you wouldn't send your kids to it.

That's pretty typical of your kind singingrick - cowards who want others to do their fighting for them.

Oh, and I don't have any kids. :-)

singringrick:

You may as well admit to everyone that you and lars008 are one and the same. Either that or he's your imbecilic half brother.

Look, if you're too old to serve, then you probably have kids who are at the right age to serve - just send them instead.

I'm sure they would be more than happy to fight for the President in a war that you seem almost happy about.

Maybe they could go and further your cause by killing innocent people as well?

As for me being happy, singingrick, I have to tell you, I'm probably one of the happiest people you could ever hope to meet.

Have a nice day. :-)

"Asserting a right to self-defense, American forces in eastern Afghanistan launched artillery rounds into Pakistan to strike Taliban fighters who attack remote U.S. outposts, the commander of U.S. forces in the region said Sunday."

Does this mean that Pakistan has the right to attack American interests now?

Hey singingrick aka lars008,

When are you signing up to go to Iraq or Afghanistan?