U.S. sending tanks to hit harder at Taliban

Washington Post ^ | November 19, 2010 | Rajiv Chandrasekaran

[Pan_Yan]

The U.S. military is sending a contingent of heavily armored battle tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, defense officials said, a shift that signals a further escalation in the aggressive tactics that have been employed by American forces this fall to attack the Taliban.

The deployment of a company of M1 Abrams tanks, which will be fielded by the Marines in the country's southwest, will allow ground forces to target insurgents from a greater distance - and with more of a lethal punch - than is possible from any other U.S. military vehicle. The 68-ton tanks are propelled by a jet engine and equipped with a 120mm gun that can destroy a house more than a mile away.

Despite an overall counterinsurgency strategy that emphasizes the use of troops to protect Afghan civilians from insurgents, statistics released by the NATO military command in Kabul and interviews with several senior commanders indicate that U.S. troop operations over the past two months have been more intense and have had a harder edge than at any point since the initial 2001 drive to oust the Taliban government.

The pace of Special Operations missions to kill or capture Taliban leaders has more than tripled over the past three months. U.S. and NATO aircraft unleashed more bombs and missiles in October - 1,000 total - than in any single month since 2001. In the districts around the southern city of Kandahar, soldiers from the Army's 101st Airborne Division have demolished dozens of homes that were thought to be booby-trapped, and they have used scores of high-explosive line charges - a weapon that had been used only sparingly in the past - to blast through minefields.

[Little Pig]

*Any* other U.S. Military vehicle? I think the pilots of our A-10s and Spectre gunships might have something to say about that, to say nothing of our sailors manning any of our ships of the line. Any other land vehicle, maybe.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

Just hope they don’t do it like they did to us in Somalia. We had tanks, but no tank rounds. They just used the 50’s mounted on top...

[Pan_Yan]

Give ‘em a break. It's WaPo writing a military story - kind of like reading about a chemistry breakthrough in the gossip columns.

[Blueflag]

Ah yes. The M1A1 - the world’s most powerful and accurate sniping weapon system. I can’t call it the most accurate and powerful sniper rifle, ‘cuz, well, it’s not rifled ;-)

If you can spot it, the M1A1 can kill it with direct fire. One shot, one kill, WELL over a mile.

With apologies to all the cannon-cocker and jet-jockey fans here, the M1A1 *IS* a one shot, one kill “sniper”. (JDAMs don’t fit my analogy, because they have terminal guidance)

[Chode]

tanks, to the mountains, in the winter...

[imjimbo]

The Wapo is barely usable as a fish wrapper- the Baltimore Sun only works as a bird cage liner.

[Blueflag]

Legitimate concern, but that’s not the mission profile, really.

The tanks can reach out and touch the small groups of gomers ABOVE the roads with direct fire. They tend to shoot down from above and then scoot after hitting our squads with small arms, mortar and RPG fire.

The M1A1 can acquire and accurately shoot REALLY fast, AND hit with enough explosive power to kill the gomers up amongst the rocky formations.

The M1’s munitions can destroy any dwelling or structure the commander is ordered to demolish. Better than placing Marines at risk to place charges.

Plus, SO FAR the gomers’ fire teams in Afghanistan don’t operate with anything that can kill an M1. (IEDs not withstanding).

Lastly, the sight, presence and threat of an M1A1 WILL motivate the enemy to break cover and move away and/or not fire (and thus draw fire).

[KoRn]

We haven’t had tanks over there during this entire time?!?!

[Pan_Yan]

Better than walking, I guess.

[SMARTY]

Reminds me.... if you haven’t seen the film ‘The Beast’ make sure to get it.

Golan Globus production. TOOOOOOO good!!!

[VaRepublican]

ditto, but isn’t this starting to sound like the USSR’s attempt?

[Pan_Yan]

Apparently not. Wouldn’t want to scare anyone.

[PghBaldy]

That was my first thought.

[thethirddegree]

Watch Obama cripple the effectiveness of the tank with more ridiculous ROE. BTW, my stepston served in Iraq as a tank driver for the 1st Armored Division.

[rbg81]

If its needed, then why has it taken 9 years to get them in theatre?

[luvbach1]

Yes, the tanks pack a wallop, but our troops’ ROE will make them reluctant to use all that stand-off fire power with the enemy embedded with (hiding behind) “innocent” civilians, as is the common tactic of the Taliban cowards.

[Chode]

i hope so... there are still hundreds of Soviet tank hulls left

[elpadre]

I understand and agree that making friends and bringing in their power to our side is a good policy. Part of that turning of hearts and minds should be to make them understand that where ever the Taliban or AQ attack, them or the US, to expect an overwhelming force so as to wipe out the enemy. There will be civilian casualties and we hate to do it but it is for your own good.

As I heard the heroic story of the new MOH recipient, my thought was that a platoon was not the right size force for the plan. Or if a platoon was out in front, then there should have been a mighty force on the other side of the hill able to respond within minutes.

[FES0844]

How about a couple of clusters??!!!!