[Peace-discuss] Battle of Kabul on schedule for spring?

[C. G. Estabrook]

[Holbrooke likes the Vietnam parallel to Afghanistan -- perhaps to recover his 
lost youth.  But the parallel may be dangerous, and Kabul may be his Dien Bien 
Phu. --CGE]

	New U.S. troops set to fight Taliban around Kabul
	Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:47am EST
	By Jonathon Burch

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Some 3,000 new U.S. soldiers have set up 
bases near the Afghan capital, Kabul, to begin flushing out Taliban in an area 
which has so far seen little military presence, the U.S. army said on Wednesday.

Around 3,500 soldiers started arriving in Afghanistan this month in the first 
phase of a troop increase that will almost double the U.S. military presence in 
the war-torn country, currently at about 35,000.

The majority of the new brigade from the 10th Mountain Division -- around 3,000 
soldiers -- are now stationed in bases in Maidan Wardak and Logar provinces to 
the south of Kabul.

The remainder have been sent to Kunar province in the northeast on the Pakistani 
border.

"We're expecting a spike in violence upon our arrival. There haven't been any 
U.S. forces in this area, so the insurgents have pretty much had free rein," 
said Lieutenant Colonel Steven Osterholzer, spokesman for the brigade.

"Us just physically being in this region is going to increase troops in contact 
and probably IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)."

Violent conflict surged in Afghanistan last year with some 5,000 people killed 
and with more attacks around Kabul, ordinary Afghans fear insurgents are slowly 
encircling the capital.

"We know there are Taliban forces operating in those areas. We plan on being 
aggressive. We want to identify the sanctuaries and deny them access and the 
freedom of movement," said Osterholzer.

A major problem facing international troops in Afghanistan, military leaders 
say, is that there are not enough of them to be able to effectively hold areas 
wrested from Taliban control.

U.S. and NATO forces in the country total about 65,000.

"We've had forces in the past who have gone through a valley and have pushed 
them out. But they moved on and the insurgents have moved back in. That's one of 
the reasons why we're being brought in," said Osterholzer.

One of the first tasks the new brigade will carry out is to secure the main 
highway running through Maidan Wardak to Kabul. (Reporting by Jonathon Burch; 
Editing by Richard Meares)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved