Special forces focus on Taliban

Independent:

Western special forces are poised to increase their clandestine military operations in Pakistan to stop the flood of Taliban fighters pouring into Afghanistan, amid concerns that the militants are "winning the war".

As fears grow that the Taliban's strength has been underestimated and not enough is being done to stop militants crossing Afghanistan's porous border, Western forces are considering taking the controversial step of carrying out more missions in Pakistan.

In recent weeks, increased attacks by Taliban fighters on Western and Afghan targets, including the killing of 10 French soldiers and the attempted storming of an American base, have been linked by Nato officials to peace deals struck between the militants and Pakistan's government and an unwillingness in some parts of the Islamabad establishment to |confront extremists.

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Meanwhile, under pressure from Washington, which has provided it with millions of dollars, Pakistan's government announced yesterday it was outlawing the main Taliban organisation in the country, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, saying it would freeze its assets. Pakistan's Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, said: "This organisation is a terrorist organisation and has created mayhem against public life." The group has claimed responsibility for a wave of suicide bombings that have killed hundreds since the fragile civilian government took power.

American, British and Afghan officials claim there are up to 80 rudimentary Taliban and al-Qa'ida training camps in Pakistan, churning out insurgents often with the connivance of elements in the Pakistani military and the notorious ISI intelligence service. The cross-border flow of militants has resulted in a blurring of the distinction between Pakistan Taliban and the Taliban "proper". Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, is believed to be living in Pakistan's tribal areas, as is Osama bin Laden.

But increasing the number of clandestine operations inside Pakistan would be a major step, with huge potential for serious repercussions. While it is generally recognised that the CIA and special forces operate covertly in the country, the subject is sensitive and not publicly discussed. Previously, Pakistan forces have publicly taken responsibility for missile attacks and other military strikes probably carried out by US forces.

To enable the clandestine operations, it is understood the US has established bases just inside Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. They include Lowara Mundi, facing North Waziristan, Mughalgai, across the border from the training camp of the Taliban commander Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani, and Gurbaz near Khost.

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One senior Western commander involved in the Afghan operations said: "The facts are pretty plain, the deals across the border have led to a significant rise in insurgent activities here in Afghanistan. We know where these guys are being trained and armed to be sent to Afghanistan to kill civilians and Afghan and coalition troops. This is obviously a political hot potato, but we would be failing in our duty if we did not seek to counter this."

Asked why operations against the Taliban were not being left to the Pakistanis, he said: "I can only echo what President Bush told the visiting Pakistanis the other day – that, in effect, information we share with them seems to end up with the bad guys."

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A number of Taliban leaders have been killed and captured in Pakistan by US-led forces engaged in a counter-terrorist operations. They are, however, formally considered a separate mission, which allows the Nato-led Isaf to say it is not involved.

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As the last paragraph suggest the special forces are already deeply involved in Pakistan. That involvement will probably pick up as more are added to the mix. The cross border operations reminds me somewhat of the SOG missions in Vietnam. Those special forces troops had bases along the border with Laos and made cross border raids against the communist infiltration and supply routes along the Ho Chi Minh trail. One of their major bases was at Khe Sanh near one of the choke points on the trail.

I suspect one of the reasons for the seige at Khe Sanh was to inhibit these raids during a critical period for resupplying the Tet offensive. The US got around that by using other SOG forces stationed in Thailand that were inserted near a communist command center. They got the intelligence of a high ranking coummunist officer's scheduled visit and ordered a huge bombing raid.

I don't think it would be that difficult to do similar raids into Pakistan. The Taliban will probably retaliate by setting up observation posts near the new border bases. That is actually what the North Vietnamese had done which triggered the first battle of Khe Sanh the year before teh seige.