U.S., Afghan Forces Assault Taliban Position

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
FNC
October 16, 2008

Special Report With Brit Hume (FNC), 6:00 PM
HUME: An Afghan policeman opened fire on a U.S. patrol today in eastern Afghanistan. The man tossed a hand grenade at the troops, killing one American before he himself was killed. The attack raises concerns of militants may have infiltrated the police force. Meanwhile, the Afghan army is leading more and more assault operations on the Taliban.
Correspondent Dana Lewis went along on one raid for tonight’s “America Future” report.
DANA LEWIS: Operation Thunder Road at an American Forward Operating Base southeast of Kabul in Logar Province. For the soldiers of the 101st Airborne and the Afghan army there is tension and fear because danger looms large.
Some of these Afghan soldiers have never been in a helicopter before, let alone on choppers flying into a known enemy area. An air assault is designed to shock and surprise insurgents. As one soldier says, it’s like flicking on a light in a dark room and watching the cockroaches scatter. Two hundred seventy soldiers appear out of nowhere. They pushed into villages known to shelter the Taliban.
Normally, they see the soldiers coming when they come by convoy, but today, the 101st caught them off guard by doing this air assault.
CAPT. BO FAIRCLOTH [101st Airborne]: Do you have eyes on our target village?
LEWIS: It’s not the right village. So we are you guided through the mountains by circling U.S. Apache gunships.
Villagers are told women stay inside, men out. Capt. Bo Faircloth of the 101st Currahee Brigade lays out the rules to the village elder.
FAIRCLOTH: We came here today because we know there’s Taliban hiding weapons here and hiding personnel here.
VILLAGE ELDER: There is no Taliban around here and that there will be no, you know, firing –
FAIRCLOTH: I want to assure him there will be no Taliban here when we’re done. Okay? And that we’re not going to fire upon his people either. So we hope this will be a nice, peaceful search and walk through the village.
LEWIS: The Afghan army, now 70,000 strong in Afghanistan, leads 80 percent of these assault missions. American forces hang back.
FAIRCLOTH: Man in bazaar. AO is taking fire. All right?
LEWIS: Shooting breaks out between U.S. forces and the Taliban.
SOLDIER: Apache 26, we’re all moving up to the phase line. Understand taking incoming mortar or rocket fire at this time, over.
LEWIS: We’ve just heard troops in contact in the next village – mortar shots, some – maybe some heavy automatic gunfire coming from there. And they’re reporting that the next unit forward has in fact been taking some fire in a marketplace. And over here, somebody just spotted somebody with an AK-47 running into one of the village homes, so not such a sleepy town after all.
Four hours on the ground, then the helicopters return. But as we lift off, we’re fired upon by a rocket propelled grenade. It explodes close enough to hear, but not close enough to damage the Chinook. Always more insurgents here, ready to stand and fight another day.
In Kirwall (ph), Afghanistan, Dana Lewis, Fox News.
 
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