| Tweet |
□アフガニスタンのイギリス軍は疲労困憊の瀬戸際に(英文記事)
http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/97626
British troops in Afghanistan 'on the brink of exhaustion' (Update: another Brirtish soldier killed)
By: Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent, Daily Telegraph/jouna/Soctsman on: 08.08.2006 [10:32 ] (688 reads)
(Filed: 06/08/2006)
Update: "Soldier killed as Taleban hits convoy" - The Scotsman, Tuesday, 8th August
British troops fighting Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan are on the "brink of exhaustion", The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Commanders fear that the number of "high tempo" operations being launched against the Taliban is "unsustainable" unless the 3,600-strong task force is reinforced with an extra 1,000-strong infantry battle group.
Since May, British troops in Helmand province have fought 25 major battles in which they killed an estimated 700 Taliban.
Commanders say the mission has so far been "fantastically successful", but they believe that the relentless number of back-to-back operations being fought in harsh terrain in temperatures of up to 50C is beginning to take its toll.
"The men are knackered - they are on the brink of exhaustion," said one senior officer. "They are under considerable duress and have suffered great hardship."
On Tuesday, three British soldiers were killed in an ambush, bringing the total number of deaths during the mission to nine. Several soldiers have also been wounded.
Most of the fighting is being conducted by about 700 troops drawn mainly from the 3rd battalion The Parachute Regiment, the Gurkhas, the Territorial Army and the Royal Irish Regiment.
They are supported by a squadron of light tanks from the Household Cavalry and a battery of six 105mm light guns from 7 (Para) Royal Horse Artillery. Troops occupying three isolated outposts in Sangin, Nawzad and Musa Qala in the north of the province are being attacked every day by Taliban fighters.
Commanders believe that if they slow the momentum of attacks, the Taliban will gain time to regroup and reorganise before winter.
The Sunday Telegraph has also learnt that an interim study of the mission, by Brigadier Mungo Melvin of the Directorate of Operational Capability, has found "shortcomings" in the assessment of the enemy threat.
Patrick Mercer, the Conservative spokesman for homeland security, said the Government had a responsibility to reinforce the task force. He said: "Why the Prime Minister is not giving the commanders in Afghanistan the troops they require is completely incomprehensible."
LINK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/06/nafg06.xml
SENT: by jouna
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS (by jouna):
Just offering helping hand to the Daily Telegraph in "Why the Prime Minister is not giving the commanders in Afghanistan the troops they require is completely incomprehensible." as I happen to know the answer: remember the Falklands, of course. Well, at the time the US military advicers told the UK not to go for it as they estimated that the UK could not sustain nearly 10,000 troops abroad for several months. When you compare this to the fact that the UK has been keeping nearly twice the number in Iraq, Afghanistan for several several years you know the same as me: the troops required are not given as there are no troops. UK is next to finished.
Soldier killed as Taleban hits convoy
GAVIN CORDON
THE British soldier killed in Afghanistan on Sunday was taking part in the biggest offensive operation yet mounted by UK forces against the Taleban, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday.
Private Andrew Barrie Cutts, of 13 Air Assault Support Regiment, The Royal Logistics Corps, was among 500 British troops involved in Operation Snakebite to disrupt the Taleban's command and control in the notorious Sangin valley in the southern Helmand province.
He died after elements of the 3 Para Battle Group, which carried out the offensive, came under "significant fire" from Taleban forces.
"The battle group responded with overwhelming firepower and deliberate action to dislocate and disrupt the enemy who have attempted to rule local villages with fear and intimidation," a statement issued by British forces in Kandahar said.
The 19-year-old, from Blidworth, near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, had been working with the regiment's force protection troop providing firepower for convoys delivering supplies to British troops in the province.
He was shot when Taleban fighters attacked a mission to re-supply an outpost in Musa Qala, which is in the same area where three other soldiers were killed last week.
Meanwhile, Colonel Tim Collins, one of the most senior officers in Iraq in 2003, warned that British forces in Afghanistan needed more support from the government. "I think the armed forces have really backed themselves into a corner," he said. "They have lost their voice in government, no-one is listening to them. Someone needs to stand up for the armed forces and say enough is enough. They need to be properly resourced and properly funded. Servicemen and women need to be looked after."
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1147132006
▽関連記事
将軍は警告する アフガニスタンはほぼ無政府状態にある（ガーディアン紙）
http://www.asyura2.com/0601/war82/msg/835.html
投稿者 gataro 日時 2006 年 7 月 22 日 21:25:32: KbIx4LOvH6Ccw
投稿コメント全ログ コメント即時配信 スレ建て依頼 削除コメント確認方法
題名には必ず「阿修羅さんへ」と記述してください。
掲示板,ＭＬを含むこのサイトすべての
一切の引用、転載、リンクを許可いたします。確認メールは不要です。
引用元リンクを表示してください。