Gardez Battle Raises Coalition's Profile
After five months during which some of the Bush administration's most willing international partners griped about being left on the sidelines of the Afghan war, at least seven U.S. allies are contributing troops to this week's U.S. offensive in eastern Afghanistan, elevating their profile in a war managed by the Pentagon.
American and Afghan forces are providing the primary punch as the largest battle of the war unfolds near Gardez, but French warplanes are dropping bombs, and Norway, Canada and Australia have deployed special operations soldiers skilled in winter combat. Commandos from Germany, Denmark and an unidentified country also are on the ground, a Pentagon official said.
Diplomats expressed satisfaction that Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, chief of the U.S. Central Command, included about 200 allied soldiers in the battle plan. The total represents about 10 percent of the U.S.-led force battling al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. More than 1,000 U.S. soldiers are taking part, along with about 1,000 Afghan allies.
"I hope in hindsight the view will be that, yes, it is actually politically and militarily useful to do things together," one senior European diplomat said.
"Contrary to what some people in Washington or in the Pentagon seem to believe," the diplomat continued, "coalitions doing things together is always better than doing things alone. I believe the myth that has been propagated in Washington that 'We are now so strong that we can do things alone better than if we do it by committee' is a totally wrong myth."
Another European diplomat credited the Bush administration with working hard to build an alliance against the Taliban and al Qaeda. He said this battle has given the administration a chance to show allies "they're all part of the coalition and the same effort. It would be a bit strange if they didn't use the coalition now that they're there."
Special operations units from other nations have played roles in Afghanistan, but less visibly; the decision to assign them to surveillance and blocking missions during this week's offensive was a product of military need, Marine Lt. Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said yesterday.
U.S. commanders had "this big operation coming up; we have these forces available to us, let's use them. When you've got a limited number of U.S. troops on the ground, you want to use everything that's available to you to help accomplish the mission," Lapan said.
Until now, U.S. allies primarily received attention for keeping the peace in Kabul, the Afghan capital, where a British-led force of about 4,900 troops from 18 countries is patrolling the streets. On Wednesday, two SA-3 antiaircraft missiles exploded prematurely as peacekeepers tried to destroy them, killing two German and three Danish soldiers.
Franks told reporters that special operations forces from allied countries were deployed to Paktia province, scene of the current battle, late last week before the offensive began. Maj. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck credited the coalition soldiers with conducting the "the recon missions, both before the air assault went in and during the current operation."
"We began to plan about three weeks ago a large, complex, multinational operation, and we attempted to make all the component parts as simple as possible and bring them all together in one battle plan," said Hagenbeck, the U.S. field commander of the current offensive.
The allied governments involved have not offered details of military operations. But Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said the coalition forces were "heavily engaged," while Australian officials have said their troops have clashed with al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
Gen. Raymond Henault, Canada's chief of defense staff, told reporters that 15 to 20 Canadian soldiers, including at least two teams of snipers, are taking part in the battle. German special forces also have taken part, officials have said, although Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping said the Germans are simply helping transport the wounded.
The French government reports that its warplanes have flown reconnaissance missions and bombed the Gardez battle zone every day since the offensive began, using 16 jets from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Arabian Sea and six Mirage 2000s flown last week to a U.S.-operated base in Kyrgyzstan.
Overall, France, Britain and Germany each has several thousand troops in the region. Rumsfeld said last month that 17,000 non-American soldiers, sailors, fliers and marines have been deployed to the area overseen by U.S. Central Command.
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