Senior U.S. Commanders to Assess Afghanistan Mission - Download Free Phim, Nhac, Phan Mem, Karaoke

conmeo · #1 (**permalink**) 10-17-2008, 11:36 AM

An American military outpost in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, has been frequently attacked by insurgents in recent weeks

WASHINGTON — The commander of the United States’ Special Operations forces is meeting this week with the senior American commander in Afghanistan, as well as top Special Operations officers there, to assess the mission in Afghanistan, senior military officials said Thursday.

The commander, Adm. Eric T. Olson, was in Pakistan on Thursday to meet the new leader of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps paramilitary force, Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan, and to observe a new American-led training program for the Pakistani corps.

Over the next several months, about two dozen American and British military trainers will instruct Pakistani officers at a base in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. The Pakistani officers will in turn train Frontier Corps soldiers next year, in what both countries say is a crucial step in building an effective indigenous force to combat fighters from Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan’s unruly tribal areas.

But the bulk of Admiral Olson’s time in the region will be spent conferring in Afghanistan with senior American Special Operations officers from across the country, as well as with the senior American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David D. McKiernan, on Friday.

General McKiernan has said that he needs as many as 15,000 combat and support troops beyond the 8,000 troops that President Bush recently approved for deployment early next year. The general is also conducting his own assessment of operations in Afghanistan.

His findings, along with other assessments from the Pentagon and the State Department, will be combined into a comprehensive White House review of Afghanistan policy that is to be completed next month after the presidential election, administration officials said Thursday.

Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon spokesman, said officials from across the government, including the intelligence agencies, were working to ensure that “we are on the proper footing as we hand off the baton to the next administration.”

The participants in the White House review, which began on Sept. 22 and is led by Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, the senior coordinator for Iraq and Afghanistan, completed their formal meetings last week. Officials at the National Security Council are wrapping up their consultations and preparing to write their recommendations, an administration official said.

One set of findings and recommendations will address what the Bush administration can do in its waning months, an administration official said. Another set will highlight issues and possible actions for the next administration, specifically during the period between the American presidential election and the Afghan presidential election, scheduled for next September.

Admiral Olson, General McKiernan and another senior commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former top officer in Iraq who takes charge of the Central Command on Oct. 31, are reviewing the Afghanistan mission.

This summer, General McKiernan, a four-star Army officer who leads the NATO force in Afghanistan, was given command of most of the 19,000 American troops who have operated separately. The NATO force had already included about 15,000 other Americans.

American officials say they hope that the creation of a more unified command structure under General McKiernan will improve the coordination of all forces in Afghanistan — most notably American units near the Pakistani border in eastern Afghanistan, which have been independent of the NATO-led force in southern Afghanistan.

Admiral Olson was expected to meet with Special Operations officers this week at Bagram air base in Afghanistan to discuss details of how many of the Special Operations forces could improve coordination with General McKiernan’s command.

Afghan Police Officer Kills G.I.

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan police officer in an observation tower in the Bermel district in the southeastern province of Paktia fired on an American patrol on Thursday, killing one of the soldiers, the United States military command said.

The Americans returned fire, killing the police officer, the military said.

Last month, another Afghan police officer in Paktia fired on American troops at a police station, killing one and wounding three before he was killed.

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