Attack on Afghanistan Outpost Breached Perimeter (Updated)
The more than 200 insurgents who made a predawn attack on an outpost near the Pakistan border outnumbered defenders three to one, according to the New York Times. Sunday’s assault occurred just three days after 45 US soldiers, likely from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 25 Afghan troops established a new combat outpost in the hamlet of Wanat in Nuristan Province. Nine Americans were killed in action and at least 15 wounded. Four Afghan soldiers were also wounded.
The U.S. outpost was still under construction. Some soldiers had to use vehicles for cover during the attack. In at least once place, the enemy breached the perimeter. Warplanes, including B-1 bombers, attack helicopters and artillery helped repel the attackers.
“Quite clearly they wanted to overrun the outpost,” the Western official said of the insurgents. “It was a well-planned surprise attack.”
Insurgents have been present in the area for months, including Taliban fighters and Pakistani militant groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group that was originally formed to fight in Kashmir.
Tamim Nuristani, a former governor in the region, said some local people might have joined the militants since a group of civilians were killed in American airstrikes on July 4 in the same area. “This made the people angry,” he said. “It was the same area. The airstrikes happened maybe one kilometer away from the base.”
Mr. Nuristani strongly criticized those airstrikes, saying that 22 civilians had been killed. The provincial police chief confirmed that at least 17 civilians had been killed. The American military said planes had struck vehicles of insurgents but it has announced an investigation. Days after his comments, Mr. Nuristani was removed from his post.
Here’s why things are not going well in Afghanistan. It’s a country traditionally hostile to foreigners, which means the fewer foreign troops the better. Lack of NATO forces on the ground leads to heavy reliance on air power. Air strikes inevitably kill innocent civilians, leading to more hostility.
See below for updates…
What Afghanistan has needed for a very long time is a strong, legitimate national government. Unfortunately for us, the Taliban regime is the closest they have come to that goal in recent memory. No U.S.-imposed government is going to be able to rule Afghanistan.
Former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer:
The insurgency may drag on for many months or several years, but the tide has turned. Like Alexander’s Greeks, the British and the Soviets before the US-led coalition, inferior Afghan insurgents have forced far superior Western military forces on to a path that leads toward evacuation.
…Although foreign forces in Afghanistan are always more modern and better armed and trained, they are continuously ground down by the same kinds of small-scale but unrelenting hit-and-run attacks and ambushes, as well as by the country’s impenetrable topography that allows the Afghans to retreat, hide, and attack another day.
Most people in Afghanistan have only the vaguest idea of what or where America is, or what our armed forces are doing in their country. But they are fighting back, and they have help from across the border in Pakistan. We have to re-think our strategy.
Barack Obama’s idea of deploying at least two more combat brigades to Afghanistan is a stopgap measure at best. His proposals to give more support to the fledgling Afghan government and work out a more productive relationship with Pakistan are well-meaning, but might be too little, too late. It’s probable the Bush administration’s obsession with Iraq caused us to miss the turning point in Afghanistan.
UPDATE: Today, John McCain essentially adopted Barack Obama’s position on Afghanistan after denying up to now that more troops were needed there.
UPDATE: The Long War Journal reports that a Pakistani paramilitary outpost was surrounded by 250 Taliban fighters. After surrendering, 15 troops were killed and five set free. Then the Taliban looted and destroyed the outpost with explosives.
UPDATE: “We are confirming that we have vacated our combat outpost at Wanat,” said a NATO spokesman to the BBC. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) announced the camp had now been “disestablished” but said there would be a “continued presence” in the area - namely patrols and the use of Afghan security forces.
The Associated Press reports that insurgents have now seized control of Wanat, which was guarded only by a small police contingent after the Americans pulled out. The policemen soon fled.
UPDATE: On VetVoice, Brandon Friedman calls attention to the seriousness of the situation in Afghanistan. “There have been 556 Americans killed in Afghanistan since 2001. 42 of them–nearly 8 percent–have been killed in the last six weeks.”
UPDATE: CNN reports that an investigation is underway to determine why there was no warning given before the surprise attack last Sunday.
More info:
Bill Roggio, The Long War Journal: Joint al Qaeda and Taliban force behind Kunar base attack
Noah Shachtman on Danger Room: Details Emerge in Deadly Afghan Attack
AP: US troops pull out of Afghan base after attack
Reuters: Civilian casualties fuel Afghan conflict
The Guardian’s Afghanistan page.
