BACKGROUNDER Military a Nalysis Andeducation for Civilian Leaders June 10, 2010
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Last of U.S. Marines Leave Afghanistan's Helmand Province
Last of U.S. Marines Leave Afghanistan’s Helmand Province Departure Is Part of the Withdrawal of Most Foreign Combat Troops by Dec. 31 KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The air traffic controllers had to stay until the very end. After several busy days and hundreds of flights out of Helmand province, the last of the U.S. Marines filed into helicopters around midday Monday, leaving behind a sprawling compound that for years served as a crucial base of the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. “I don’t think we’ve had time to digest it, we’ve been so busy,” said Marine Corps Capt. Benjamin Kiley, an air- control officer, who said he had slept just four hours over the past four days. Minutes before leaving, air tower workers destroyed sensitive gear and made sure no classified papers were lying around. For years, Helmand was the focus of Marine Corps operations in Afghanistan. Camps Leatherneck and Bastion— shared by U.S. and British forces before being formally handed over Sunday—comprised the logistical hub and headquarters. The base once housed some 40,000 U.S. and allied troops. The compound is now in the hands of Afghan forces, who began trickling in to secure the perimeter Monday morning. Marines prepare to depart Helmand on Monday after American and British forces formally handed over the Leatherneck and Bastion camps. “It’s kind of surreal. When you’ve been here for so long it’s incredible to think that we are finally leaving,” said Marine Corps Lt. Nicole Kreis, an air-traffic controller who was on one of the last helicopters out of Camp Leatherneck. -
Operation Golden Gate to Connect Sangin, Musa Qal'ah Tanks Disrupt
NEWS Operation Golden Gate to connect Sangin, Musa Qal'ah Story and photos by Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr. SANGIN DISTRICT, Afghanistan – Ground was broken for the start of Operation Golden Gate in the Sangin District of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 4. Marines, sailors and soldiers are working together in an effort to build a bridge more than 24 feet wide that will span more than 150 feet across the Helmand River, allowing for easy passage for the local people. “This is a joint project to build a permanent bridging solution to connect the east and west banks of the river, “said 2nd Lt. Benjamin Nelson, mission commander for Engineer Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 2, Combat Logistics Regiment 15. The current bridge site is near the northern causeway, which once housed a bridge that connected the people of Sangin and Musa Qal’ah. “The northern causeway was the site of an existing medium girder bridge,” said Lt. j.g. James A. Bruno, platoon commander with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133. “Over time, the river expanded west, making it no longer feasible to have the bridge there.” (Read the STORY) Tanks disrupt enemy activity in known insurgent hotbed Story and photos by Cpl. Mark Garcia COMBAT OUTPOST SHIR GHAZAY, Afghanistan – During a time when insurgents typically bed down for the winter, Marines and coalition forces engaged multiple enemy forces during Operation Helmand Viper, Oct. 19 through 27. Tanks with Bravo Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 7, led the support mission for special operations forces. The operation’s focus was to find and destroy weapons caches, improvised explosive devices and drug producing facilities. -
Water Dispute Escalating Between Iran and Afghanistan
Atlantic Council SOUTH ASIA CENTER ISSUE BRIEF Water Dispute Escalating between Iran and Afghanistan AUGUST 2016 FATEMEH AMAN Iran and Afghanistan have no major territorial disputes, unlike Afghanistan and Pakistan or Pakistan and India. However, a festering disagreement over allocation of water from the Helmand River is threatening their relationship as each side suffers from droughts, climate change, and the lack of proper water management. Both countries have continued to build dams and dig wells without environmental surveys, diverted the flow of water, and planted crops not suitable for the changing climate. Without better management and international help, there are likely to be escalating crises. Improving and clarifying existing agreements is also vital. The United States once played a critical role in mediating water disputes between Iran and Afghanistan. It is in the interest of the United States, which is striving to shore up the Afghan government and the region at large, to help resolve disagreements between Iran and Afghanistan over the Helmand and other shared rivers. The Atlantic Council Future Historical context of Iran Initiative aims to Disputes over water between Iran and Afghanistan date to the 1870s galvanize the international when Afghanistan was under British control. A British officer drew community—led by the United States with its global allies the Iran-Afghan border along the main branch of the Helmand River. and partners—to increase the In 1939, the Iranian government of Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Joint Comprehensive Plan of Zahir Shah’s Afghanistan government signed a treaty on sharing the Action’s chances for success and river’s waters, but the Afghans failed to ratify it. -
Making the Most of Afghanistan's River Basins
Making the Most of Afghanistan’s River Basins Opportunities for Regional Cooperation By Matthew King and Benjamin Sturtewagen www.ewi.info About the Authors Matthew King is an Associate at the EastWest Institute, where he manages Preventive Diplomacy Initiatives. Matthew’s main interest is on motivating preventive action and strengthening the in- ternational conflict prevention architecture. His current work focuses on Central and South Asia, including Afghanistan and Iran, and on advancing regional solutions to prevent violent conflict. He is the head of the secretariat to the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention and Human Security. He served in the same position for the International Task Force on Preventive Diplomacy (2007–2008). King has worked for EWI since 2004. Before then he worked in the legal profession in Ireland and in the private sector with the Ford Motor Company in the field of change management. He is the author or coauthor of numerous policy briefs and papers, including “New Initiatives on Conflict Prevention and Human Security” (2008), and a contributor to publications, including a chapter on peace in Richard Cuto’s Civic and Political Leadership (Sage, forthcoming). He received his law degree from the University of Wales and holds a master’s in peace and conflict resolution from the Centre for Conflict Resolution at the University of Bradford, in England. Benjamin Sturtewagen is a Project Coordinator at the EastWest Institute’s Regional Security Program. His work focuses on South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, and on ways to promote regional security. Benjamin has worked for EWI since April 2006, starting as a Project Assistant in its Conflict Prevention Program and later as Project Coordinator in EWI’s Preventive Diplomacy Initiative. -
Livelihoods Zoning “Plus” Activity in Afghanistan
LIVELIHOODS ZONING “PLUS” ACTIVITY IN AFGHANISTAN A SPECIAL REPORT BY THE FAMINE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS NETWORK (FEWS NET) February 2011 1 LIVELIHOODS ZONING “PLUS” ACTIVITY IN AFGHANISTAN A SPECIAL REPORT BY THE FAMINE EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS NETWORK (FEWS NET) February 2011 The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. 2 Contents Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Livelihoods Highlights .................................................................................................................................................... 8 National Seasonal Calendar ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Livelihood Zone 1: Eastern Mixed Agriculture and Forest ........................................................................................... 10 Livelihood Zone 2: Eastern Agro-Pastoral and Forest ................................................................................................ -
The Taliban at War: Inside the Helmand Insurgency, 2004–2012
The Taliban at war: inside the Helmand insurgency, 2004–2012 THEO FARRELL AND ANTONIO GIUSTOZZI* Ten years ago the Taliban appeared to have been defeated. In retaliation for the 9/11 attacks, the United States had invaded Afghanistan and, in a matter of months, had overthrown the Taliban regime.1 In December 2001 Hamid Karzai had been appointed the interim Afghan president by a loya jirga (grand council), and in January 2002 the international community had agreed to provide extensive assis- tance to stabilize and rebuild the Afghan state. By mid-2002, US and British task forces were chasing the last remnants of the Taliban out of the country and hunting down Al-Qaeda terrorists.2 A decade later, Karzai is still in power and Afghanistan has received massive international developmental and security assistance.3 But the Afghan state is also battling a Taliban insurgency that shows little sign of abating. How did the Taliban return to Afghanistan, and why have they not been defeated? We answer these questions by looking inside the Afghan insurgency, using Helmand province as a case-study. We draw on a large number of original interviews with Taliban field commanders and fighters to produce a uniquely detailed picture of the Taliban at war. The picture that emerges is of a resilient insurgency that has adapted under immense military pressure to become more centralized and more professional. The Taliban have suffered very heavy attrition in Helmand, but they are far from defeated. Up to now, assessments of the war have been primarily based on analysis of western and Afghan government efforts.4 In this article, we examine how the * For feedback on earlier drafts of this article, we wish to thank Mark Beautement, Ryan Evans, Carter Malkasian, Mike Martin and the two anonymous reviewers, as well as audiences at presentations in 2012–13 in the ‘Changing character of war’ programme at Oxford University, the Afghan Studies Group at King’s College London, and the Centre for War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark. -
Cas on Station
CAS ON ANSF Focus Tornadoes go operational R & D in action in RC’s STATION A-10s return to Bagram New Hospitals in North, East Securing Sangin In this month’s Mirror June 2007 4 NATO and HQ n Young leaders workshop 6 RC-East n A-10s on watch over battlefield n Chiefs of defense meet 5 Focus on ANSF 8 Mehtar Lam Shura n McNeill tours police training n ANA base built up n Dutch OMLT on the road 9 Forward ops with Afghan National Army n Insurgents engaged in Paktika n Brits get aviation training Eyes in the skies n New Bagram hospital 10 RC-North n Tornadoes go operational 11 COMISAF visit n McNeill tours police training 12 Mixed recce co. n Protection through detection 13 Role 3 hospital n New facility opens at Marmal n Dari literacy classes for Marmal’s Afghan employees The A-10’s 30-milimeter Gatling gun Cover Photo by Sgt. Ruud Mol A-10s return to Bagram ........... A maintainer with the Tornado Wing at Camp Marmal opens the canopy to preapare the air- turn to page 6. craft for a mission. Photo by Sgt. Ruud Mol Tornadoes conduct surveillance ... turn to page 10. 2 ISAF MIRROR June 2007 Contents 14 RC-West n DCOM Stability visits The ISAF Mirror is a HQ ISAF Public PRT at Chaghcharan Information product. Articles, where possible, have been kept in their origi- nal form. Opinions expressed are those 15 Urgent care of the writers and do not necessarily n reflect official NATO, JFC HQ Brunssum PRT Farah treats Taliban’s young or ISAF policy. -
How Opium Profits the Taliban / Gretchen Peters
S How Opium RK Profits the Taliban Gretchen Peters EW AC UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE PE The views expressed in this report are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace. UNITED STATE S IN S TIT U TE OF PEACE 1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036-3011 Phone: 202.457.1700 Fax: 202.429.6063 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.usip.org Peaceworks No. 62. First published August 2009. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Peters, Gretchen. How opium profits the Taliban / Gretchen Peters. p. cm. — (Peaceworks no. 62.) ISBN 978-1-60127-032-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Opium trade—Afghanistan. 2. Drug traffic—Afghanistan. 3. Taliban. 4. Afghanistan— Economic conditions. 5. Afghanistan—Politics and government—2001. 6. United States— Foreign relations—Afghanistan. 7. Afghanistan—Foreign relations—United States. I. Title. HV5840.A53P48 2009 363.4509581—dc22 2009027307 Contents Summary 1 1. Introduction 3 2. A Brief History 7 3. The Neo-Taliban 17 4. Key Challenges 23 5. Conclusion 33 About the Author 37 1 Summary In Afghanistan’s poppy-rich south and southwest, a raging insurgency intersects a thriving opium trade. This study examines how the Taliban profit from narcotics, probes how traffick- ers influence the strategic goals of the insurgency, and considers the extent to which narcotics are changing the nature of the insurgency itself. With thousands more U.S. troops deploying to Afghanistan, joined by hundreds of civilian partners as part of Washington’s reshaped strategy toward the region, understanding the nexus between traffickers and the Taliban could help build strategies to weaken the insurgents and to extend governance. -
Helmand: the U.S
The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Master's Theses Spring 2020 Helmand: The U.S. Marines and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, 2010-2012 Taylor L. Lewis Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses Part of the Military History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Lewis, Taylor L., "Helmand: The U.S. Marines and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, 2010-2012" (2020). Master's Theses. 736. https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/736 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HELMAND: THE U.S. MARINES AND COUNTERINSURGENCY IN AFGHANISTAN, 2010-2012 by Taylor L. Lewis A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Humanities at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by: Dr. Andrew Wiest, Committee Chair Dr. Heather Stur, Committee Member Dr. Brian LaPierre, Committee Member ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Dr. Andrew Wiest Dr. Matthew Casey Dr. Karen S. Coats Committee Chair Director of School Dean of the Graduate School May 2020 COPYRIGHT BY Taylor L. Lewis 2020 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT In the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, American troops contended with insurgent forces resistant to conventional tactics. General David Petraeus, along with other military experts, addressed the need for new strategies with the publication of Warfighting Publication 3-33.5 (3-33.5) in 2006. -
Chronology of Events in Afghanistan, June 2002*
Chronology of Events in Afghanistan, June 2002* June 1 One injured in bomb blast in Kandahar. (Associated Press / AP) A bomb exploded outside the palace of Kandahar's provincial governor, injuring one man and causing light damage. A spokesman for Governor Gul Agha blamed the attack on extremists seeking to disrupt the election of delegates to represent Afghanistan's southern provinces at the national grand council, or Loya Jirga, that will select a new government. 10 killed in factional fighting in Nimruz province. (Reuters) Rival factions fought with rockets and small-arms fire in Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz province, killing at least 10 people. The fighting between the two factions started [on the night of May 31] in the provincial capital, Zaranj. The fighting raged the night after a force led by provincial security chief Mohammed Yaqub Barakzai was attacked by a force loyal to commander Abdul Quddus. Eight people were killed inside a house hit by a rocket, while two soldiers died and 20 were wounded in gun battles between the two factions. A resident of Nimruz said the forces of Barakzai, a close relative of Kandahar Governor Gul Agha Shirzai, were being surrounded by those of Quddus. Shirzai, an ally of Afghan interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai, has sent reinforcements for Barakzai. Afghanistan frees prisoners from overcrowded jails. (Reuters) Twenty-eight prisoners filed out of Kabul's main detention centre as interim authorities implemented an amnesty decree issued on May 24 ordering amnesty for the old and young, for girls and for minor felons accused of misdemeanours. -
Introduction
Introduction In 1350/1971 an agreement was signed between the Afghan Depart- ment of Antiquities of the Ministry of Information and Culture and the Archaeological Expedition of the United States National Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, concerning historical excavations in Afghani- stan.1 According to this agreement, which would run for five years, the expedition was granted the privilege of conducting historical investiga- tions in an extensive area of the provinces of Helmand and Nimruz. In the autumn of that year, the expedition, under the directorship of Dr. William Trousdale, undertook the survey of ruins and the historical sites in the designated region. The author, in the capacity of representative of the Department of Antiquities, also took part in this survey. The expe- dition’s investigation covered the historical sites along the length of the Helmand River from Lashkar Gah to Deshu and Charburjak counties and similarly the historical sites of Sar-o-Tar2 and other ruins along the road between Charburjak, Zaranj, and Lashkar Gah. As a result of this survey, the expedition chose two historical areas for excavation: first, the ancient region around the site of Shahr-i Gholghola, often called Sar-o-Tar, and the neighboring historical ruins in the province of Nimruz, and second, the historical site of Tepe Shishagi near the village of Khwaja ‘Ali Sehyaka in the province of Helmand. Each of the sites was excavated by the expedi- tion in subsequent years.3 In 1354/1975 in the course of the excavation of Tepe Shishagi and the survey of the surrounding area, the expedition succeeded in finding another historical site in Rudbar, which was called Kona Qala II. -
The Taliban Resurgent: Threats to Afghanistan's
MARCH 2015 LAUREN MCNALLY AND PAUL BUCALA AFGHANISTAN REPORT 11 THE TALIBAN RESURGENT: THREATS TO AFGHANISTAN’S SECURITY Cover: An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier keeps watch at the Forward Base in Nari district near the army outpost in Kunar province, February 24, 2014. The Afghan Taliban killed 21 soldiers in the assault on Sunday in the remote mountainous region, the Afghan government said, and six soldiers were missing after the militants’ most deadly assault on the security forces in months. REUTERS/ Omar Sobhani Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ©2015 by the Institute for the Study of War. Published in 2015 in the United States of America by the Institute for the Study of War. 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 515 | Washington, DC 20036 www.understandingwar.org LAUREN MCNALLY AND PAUL BUCALA AFGHANISTAN REPORT 11 THE TALIBAN RESURGENT: THREATS TO AFGHANISTAN’S SECURITY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AFGHANISTAN REPORT 11 | THE TALIBAN RESURGENT | MCNALLY AND BUCALA | MARCH 2015 The success or failure of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan has reached a critical juncture. Newly appointed Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced on February 21, 2015 that the United States is considering a number of changes to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, including slowing the drawdown timetable and rethinking the U.S. counter-terrorism mission. On March 16, 2015, anonymous U.S.