Uncle Sam
02-11-2004, 11:42 AM
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2631681.php
By Paul Ames
Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Resistance to U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan is “running out of energy,” according to NATO’s top military commander, who said the number of hardcore Islamic insurgents may have fallen below 1,000.
The upbeat assessment of U.S. Marine Gen. James L. Jones conflicts with a Taliban claim that the al-Qaida terror network has launched a renewed campaign in the country.
“The level of the threat … is quite a bit lower than I had thought,” Jones said late Monday as he returned from a one-day visit to Afghanistan.
Jones and other NATO leaders met Monday with the U.S. operational commander in Afghanistan at the U.S. military base in Bagram, north of Kabul, before flying to the capital for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other leaders.
Jones said U.S. commanders estimate there are fewer than 1,000 fighters of the ousted Taliban regime and their al-Qaida allies in Afghanistan.
The Taliban claim two recent suicide attacks that killed a British and a Canadian solider marked a new campaign. Fears of more bombings have prompted heightened security in Kabul, which is patrolled by a NATO-led force of about 6,400 troops.
Jones said coalition commanders believe “the opposition is running out of energy.”
U.S. commanders will have a clearer idea of the insurgent threat when the snow melts, allowing more coalition operations against mountain hideaways.
Jones stressed the threat was increasingly focused on areas in the southeast near the Pakistani border, which should enable intensified reconstruction efforts in other parts of the country.
As NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, Jones is in overall command of all alliance operations, including the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. The 11,500 troops fighting the Taliban under Operation Enduring Freedom is separate from NATO and falls under the command of Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command.
Jones said the optimistic picture he received from commanders on the ground would influence plans he is drafting for NATO to expand its peacekeeping mission beyond Kabul.
By Paul Ames
Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Resistance to U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan is “running out of energy,” according to NATO’s top military commander, who said the number of hardcore Islamic insurgents may have fallen below 1,000.
The upbeat assessment of U.S. Marine Gen. James L. Jones conflicts with a Taliban claim that the al-Qaida terror network has launched a renewed campaign in the country.
“The level of the threat … is quite a bit lower than I had thought,” Jones said late Monday as he returned from a one-day visit to Afghanistan.
Jones and other NATO leaders met Monday with the U.S. operational commander in Afghanistan at the U.S. military base in Bagram, north of Kabul, before flying to the capital for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other leaders.
Jones said U.S. commanders estimate there are fewer than 1,000 fighters of the ousted Taliban regime and their al-Qaida allies in Afghanistan.
The Taliban claim two recent suicide attacks that killed a British and a Canadian solider marked a new campaign. Fears of more bombings have prompted heightened security in Kabul, which is patrolled by a NATO-led force of about 6,400 troops.
Jones said coalition commanders believe “the opposition is running out of energy.”
U.S. commanders will have a clearer idea of the insurgent threat when the snow melts, allowing more coalition operations against mountain hideaways.
Jones stressed the threat was increasingly focused on areas in the southeast near the Pakistani border, which should enable intensified reconstruction efforts in other parts of the country.
As NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, Jones is in overall command of all alliance operations, including the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. The 11,500 troops fighting the Taliban under Operation Enduring Freedom is separate from NATO and falls under the command of Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command.
Jones said the optimistic picture he received from commanders on the ground would influence plans he is drafting for NATO to expand its peacekeeping mission beyond Kabul.