Fighting in Barawala Kalet
BY Herschel Smith
13 years, 8 months ago
From an ABC News Report:
This appears to be in Kunar near the Pech Valley. We seem to be of two minds, with our abandonment of the Pech Valley, and our simultaneous boasting of clearing operations (thanks to reader Šťoural for the reference). We want to turn over FOB Blessing to the ANA, but send in U.S. troops because they can’t clear insurgents. There is a paradox in the narrative because there is a paradox on the ground, and there is a paradox on the ground because there is a paradox in the strategy.
Regular readers know exactly where I stand. We chase the insurgents into their safe havens, kill them and stay there to prevent their return. We do it with enough troops to accomplish the objective, and we don’t pretend that bringing governance will cause the Taliban to cease and desist from their nefarious aims. Then we send more troops to chase the ones who remain alive into their safe havens, and we kill them. We don’t capture them because that’s ineffectual in counterinsurgency, everywhere and every time it has been tried. We kill them – all of them.
But our strategy just hasn’t matured enough to know what our aim is. I’ve decided on a strategy – and ISAF management hasn’t. I may be wrong, but at least I’ve decided.
Prior: See Taliban Massing of Forces Part III for smart, knowledgeable and insightful comments from my faithful readers (some of who have been in the Kunar Province). I am truly thankful for them. They make this site worth reading, and certainly my prose does not.
On April 5, 2011 at 11:48 pm, DirtyMick said:
that’s 1/327 (no slack) that’s the pech. that’s been their AO the whole deployment
On April 5, 2011 at 11:48 pm, DirtyMick said:
Another comment to tie in with massing with forces. 327 killed a 100 taliban. pretty large element
On April 6, 2011 at 8:01 am, Glen Tschirgi said:
Pretty prose or not, Herschel, your blog is worth reading, at least in part, because you take a clear stand on these things and back it up. (And, no doubt, that is at least part of the reason that you have such well-informed and faithful readers).
On April 6, 2011 at 10:59 pm, jean said:
Dirty Mick,
I did not recognize that AO (Barawala Kalet) is that area on off shoot from one of the passes leading to Pakistan?
On April 7, 2011 at 6:26 am, Šťoural said:
No,it is Marawara district&2-327th AIR TF No Slack.(1-327th AIR=TF Bulldog,I know,I´m cheeky)Operation Strong Eagle III
http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2011/04/04/joint-forces-continue-marawara-operations/#more-70428
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ISAF statement “realigning units”
Since mid-February, TF Bulldog has focused on realigning units from the Pech River Valley to more densely populated and strategically important areas in Kunar Province and neighboring provinces.
By early March, they’d completed a transition of Forward Operating Base Blessing to the Afghan National Army’s control, the largest base transferred in Afghanistan to date.
Earlier this week, TF Bulldog closed Combat Outpost Michigan and simultaneously executed Operation Bulldog Blitz, another in a line of many offensive operations undertaken by the task force.
U.S. forces departed both bases without expected enemy resistance.
“I attribute that to our extensive planning, knowledge of the terrain and people; and, most importantly, to our precise execution on the ground,” said U.S. Army Capt. Robert Reynolds of Huntsville, AL, Task Force Bulldog assistant operations officer. “The enemy could not affect us, although we know he wanted to.”
http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2011/04/05/petraeus-visits-bastogne-troops-at-remote-cop/
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Another operation Bulldog Bite,1-327,Nov.2010,Watapur Valley,7 US KIA&60 Taliban KIA
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/26/AR2010122602622.html
On April 7, 2011 at 8:14 am, Jean said:
Šťoural,
The terrain looked like area east of Marwara ( Gaki pass ) We walked that area in 2006 looking for water source for a gravity fed water system that fed the villiage. Thanks
On April 7, 2011 at 1:35 pm, DirtyMick said:
Here’s an article on it: http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/04/06/132-militants-killed-kunar-operations-governor
“He said 132 militants have been killed, 20 others wounded and another 47 captured alive during the operations in Sarkano and Marawara districts”
The end of June last year the same thing happened. 327 went into the pass that marawara leads into. In that engagement they killed 200 taliban and captured 70.
So with all this heavy fighting still happening I’m wondering why they shut down the Pech.
On April 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm, Šťoural said:
Taliban massing force Operation Strong Eagle III,March 28 2011:
http://www.dvidshub.net/news/68647/gen-petraeus-awards-silver-stars-tf-no-slack-soldiers
The Silver Star recipients, U.S. Army Capt. Edward B. Bankston, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company from Decatur, Ga., and U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua L. Bostic, a squad leader from Spring City, Tenn., assigned to Company C, both from 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, said the weather during Operation Strong Eagle III in Marawara District was anything but sunny.
As soon as the battalion air assaulted into the Taliban stronghold, March 28, they realized something was wrong. More than 200 insurgent fighters were positioned inside and outside of the villages of Barawolo Kalay and Sarowbay with the possibility of an additional 200 fighters reinforcing the area in 24 hours.
That’s when a snowstorm moved in and air support became impossible.
Taliban fighters launched a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire using the weather as concealment.
On April 14, 2011 at 2:02 pm, DirtyMick said:
what’s interesting about that is the fact that we’re giving up key terrain to the Taliban and they have a sizeable element like that just 2-3 klicks north of asadabad which is the provincial capital.
On April 14, 2011 at 7:50 pm, Jean said:
DM
You can engage the ANA base and the Abad government compound from the other side of the river in Marawara. The high ground behind the ANP police station was a known POO site. Back 2006 , the local talent took a shot at the old Kunar governor, sort a welcome to town have a couple rockets from your Afghan brothers in Marawara.
On April 14, 2011 at 9:08 pm, DirtyMick said:
When we would do our dismounts in abad we could tell there was a lot of taliban floating around there. No sigacts ever came out of abad. So we were pretty convinced that Wahidi (the current governor) was dirty