In Afghanistan, US military officials say it's now or never
| Bagram, Afghanistan
US military officials in Afghanistan warn that it鈥檚 now or never to make key advancements against insurgent fighters, with the surge of US forces at its zenith and the summer fighting season in full swing.
Yet Taliban forces in the east appear to be launching offensives of their own, with no intention of giving up easily, US military officials say.
Rates of violence bear testament to that resolve. Attacks by insurgents in the east nearly doubled between March 2010 and March 2011. That鈥檚 not unexpected, US military officials say, given the surge. They add that attacks in the month of July appear to be on a downward trajectory.
In the weeks ahead, however, US commanders expect violent clashes between Taliban and US soldiers to continue apace in the east, where insurgents often make use of sanctuaries across the border in Pakistan.
With 10,000 of the 30,000 US surge forces scheduled to return to the United States by year's end 鈥� the vast majority of which have been based in southern Afghanistan 鈥� there is a sense, too, that the clock is ticking for US commanders here.
鈥淲e have more forces [in Afghanistan] right now than we will ever have,鈥� says Col. Clay Hall, commander of the US Air Force鈥檚 455th Expeditionary Operations Group (EOG). 鈥淭here鈥檚 a feeling of, 鈥楲et鈥檚 use them to maximum effect.鈥� As we pull out,鈥� with fewer and fewer US troops on the ground, 鈥渢hose engagements are going to become less and less effective.鈥�
The US military鈥檚 role in Afghanistan was to be a central point of discussion in at least two congressional hearings this week. Gen. Martin Dempsey fielded questions on the way forward in Afghanistan during his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday for serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The House Armed Services Committee, on Wednesday, was to hear testimony from former military and defense officials about US activity in Afghanistan. [Editor's note: The original version of this paragraph should have indicated that the House Armed Services Committee hearing was on Wednesday.]
On the ground here, US commanders say they see few signs of violence abating. Military officials point to a hair-raising battle between insurgents and US troops on May 25 in the violent eastern province of Nuristan.
American forces fought for hours after coming to the aid of Afghan security forces to retake a district center in Doab that had been overrun by Taliban fighters. Shortly after some 40 US soldiers arrived, they were surrounded by 鈥渁bout 300 insurgents,鈥� says Lt. Col. Daren Sorenson, deputy 455th EOG commander and an F-15 pilot who was flying overwatch that day.
US troops started taking fire 鈥渇rom all directions.鈥� As pilots spoke with US forces on the ground, 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those times where you hear in the tone of voice that they don鈥檛 know whether they鈥檙e going to make it out of there,鈥� Sorenson adds.
The Air Force joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) on the ground was calm at first. 鈥淏ut his voice changed as soon as they began taking fire,鈥� he says. As the F-15 fighter jets scrambled above, 鈥淵ou could see they were in a very, very bad place.鈥�
The US forces were facing nearly 10-to-1 odds, pinned in by fighters on the steep ridges high above them.
Sorenson and his wingman made a low pass through the narrow valley in their F-15s. This is normally enough to encourage enemy fighters to run, he says, but the insurgents seemed unfazed by the show of force. 鈥淭hey just didn鈥檛 stop,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey knew they had our guys pinned down, and they were determined to keep the fight going.鈥�
The US troops were 鈥渢aking such effective fire鈥� from the Taliban that bullets were whizzing between them and landing at their feet. Rocket-propelled grenades were flying through the air.
Sorenson dropped every bomb he had during the operation 鈥� 14 in total. 鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely rare that we find ourselves in a fight where we deploy all of our bombs,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut that day we dropped everything we had.鈥�
Still, the fighting did not end. 鈥淎s fast as we could drop one bomb, our JTAC would say, 鈥楪ood hit, next coordinates.鈥� 鈥�
The fighters had effectively surrounded troops on the ground. 鈥淟iterally we are dropping a bomb, pushing the afterburner, lining up, and dropping again.鈥�
After dropping his bombs and being replaced by another team of Air Force fighter pilots, Sorenson returned to base and began listening to the battle on the radio.
The fight lasted several hours as Taliban insurgents stopped, regrouped, and returned, he says. But eventually, the fight ended, with no US fatalities and some 200 Taliban killed, according to US military estimates.
鈥淔rankly, if that鈥檚 the method they want to use, that鈥檚 fine. We very much have the enemy on his heels,鈥� says Maj. Gen. Daniel Allyn, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division and of Regional Command East. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the insurgents held the district center for 24 hours and lost somewhere in the vicinity of a couple hundred to do it,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Pyrrhic victory is the bottom line.鈥�
Still, it illustrates the intensity of fighting that US troops must wage, says Sorenson: 鈥淥ur guys got really close to being overrun.鈥�
