July 4th, 2009 10:33 am
Marines Seek to Cut Afghan Insurgent Supply Lines

US Marines push deeper into southern Afghan towns, seeking to cut insurgent supply lines

By Jason Straziuso and Chris Brummitt / Associated Press

NAWA, Afghanistan — U.S. Marines pushed deeper into Taliban areas of southern Afghanistan on Friday, seeking to cut insurgent supply lines and win over local elders on the second day of the biggest U.S. military operation here since the American-led invasion of 2001.

On the other side of the border, U.S. missiles struck a Pakistani Taliban militant training center and communications center, killing 17 people and wounding nearly 30, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Both U.S. operations were aimed at what President Barack Obama considers as the biggest dangers in the region: a resurgent Taliban-led insurgency allied with al-Qaida that threatens both nuclear-armed Pakistan and the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan.

The 4,000-strong U.S. force met little resistance Friday as troops fanned out into villages in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, although one Marine was killed and several others were wounded the day before, U.S. officials said.

Despite minimal contact, the Marines could see militants using flashlights late Thursday to signal one another about American troop movements.

Military spokesman Capt. Bill Pelletier said the goal of the Helmand operation was not simply to kill Taliban fighters but to win over the local population — a difficult task in a region where foreigners are viewed with suspicion.

Marines also hope to cut the routes used by militants to funnel weapons, ammunition and fighters from Pakistan to the Taliban, which mounted an increasingly violent insurgency since its hard-line Islamist government was toppled in 2001 by an international coalition.

The new U.S. operation will test the Obama administration's new strategy of holding territory to let the Afghan government establish a presence in rural areas where Taliban influence is strong.

As Operation Khanjar, or "Strike of the Sword," entered its second day, Marines took control of the district centers of Nawa and Garmser, and negotiated entry into Khan Neshin, the capital of Rig district, Pelletier said.

In Nawa, Marines met with about 20 Afghan men and boys, seeking to reassure them that the Americans wanted to protect them from the Taliban.

"Are you going to enter our houses?" asked Mohammad Nabi, 25, who was there with five of his younger brothers. "We are afraid that you will leave, and the Taliban will come back."

They also complained that local police were thieves not to be trusted.

Marine officers promised not to enter homes and said they would remain in the area to keep out the Taliban.

One elder with a gray beard asked the Marines whether they would prevent residents from saying Muslim prayers. The troops assured him they would not.

In one village near Nawa, however, the atmosphere was tense.

"When we asked if they had a village elder or mullah for the American commander to talk to, the answer was no," said Capt. Drew Schoenmaker, a Marine company commander. "It's fear of reprisal. Fear and intimidation is one thing the enemy does very well."

Taking territory from the Taliban has always proved easier than holding it. The challenge is especially great in Helmand because it is a center of Afghanistan's thriving opium production, and drug profits feed both the insurgency and corrupt government officials.

On Wednesday, a British lieutenant colonel was killed in an explosion in Helmand. Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe, commander of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was the highest-ranking British officer killed in Afghanistan.

A Canadian soldier, 30-year-old Cpl. Nicholas Bulger, was killed Friday in Kandahar province after his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, the Canadian military said. Five other soldiers were hurt.

The missile attacks in Pakistan on Friday occurred about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) east of Helmand in the rugged South Waziristan region, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The area is a Taliban stronghold close to the Afghan border where Pakistani troops are gearing up for a major offensive.

Two missiles struck an abandoned seminary in the village of Mantoi used as a training base by militants from Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud's group, the officials said. In the other strike, one missile hit an insurgent communications center in the nearby village of Kokat Khel, they said.

In total, 17 people were killed and 27 others were wounded, they said.

However, Maulvi Noor Syed, an aide to Mehsud, told The Associated Press that only three Taliban fighters died in the strikes.

Also Friday, U.S. troops continued looking for an American soldier believed captured by insurgents, Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo said. The soldier and three Afghans with him went missing on Tuesday in the eastern Paktika province

There was no immediate public claim of responsibility from any insurgent group. Much of the area is controlled by the Taliban faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings including the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed some 60 people.

Also Friday, Russia announced that it will allow the U.S. to ship weapons across its territory to Afghanistan, providing Washington an alternative route to supply its forces in the landlocked country.

Up until now, Russia has allowed the U.S. to ship non-lethal supplies across its territory for operations in Afghanistan, and Kremlin officials had suggested further cooperation was likely.

July 4th, 2009 10:28 am
2 US troops killed in Afghanistan blast, 4 injured

KABUL (AP) — A blast outside a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan killed two American troops and wounded four others Saturday, a military spokesman said.

The troops were attacked outside the base in eastern Paktika province, but there were no immediate details about the nature of the blast, said Tech. Sgt. Chuck Marsh, a U.S. military spokesman.

Insurgents also attacked the base with small arms fire before U.S. troops called in airstrikes on their positions, Marsh said.

The deaths came as thousands of Marines in southern Afghanistan pursued the biggest U.S. military operation here since the American-led invasion of 2001, trying to cut insurgent supply lines and win over local elders.

Saturday's attack happened near an area in eastern Paktika province where an American soldier and three Afghans with him were believed captured by insurgents Tuesday.

U.S. troops continued looking for the soldier, Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo said Friday. The military has not publicly identified him.

No immediate claim of responsibility was made by any insurgent group for the missing soldier or Saturday's attack.

Much of the area bordering Pakistan is controlled by the Taliban faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings, including the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed 60 people.

The Taliban, who have made a violent comeback following their initial defeat in the 2001 U.S. invasion, have stepped up attacks in former strongholds of eastern and southern Afghanistan.

Responding to the deteriorating security situation, President Barack Obama's administration has ordered 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and expects the total number of U.S. forces there to reach 68,000 by year's end.

That is double the number of troops in Afghanistan in 2008 but still half as many as are now in Iraq.

July 4th, 2009 8:48 am
Bush invite to event upsets dads

The fathers of two servicemen killed in Iraq say he shouldn't be Woodward's guest.

By Sara Plummer / Tulsa World

CHOCTAW — Oklahomans Warren Henthorn and John Scripsick are upset and disappointed that former President George W. Bush is considered an honored guest at Woodward's Independence Day celebration Saturday.

Both believe Bush and his administration shoulder some of the blame for their sons' deaths while serving for the U.S. military in Iraq.

Henthorn of Choctaw said his son, Army Spc. Jeffrey Henthorn, joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard when he was 17 and served six years. He enlisted in the Army in 2003 and was serving a second tour in Iraq when he died on Feb. 8, 2005, at the age of 25.

"I didn't much care for it. He had already done six years," Henthorn said. "He knew he was going to war. I did too."

Henthorn, who served during the Vietnam War, said he was "frozen" for about six months after his son's death.

"I never was for the war," he said. "The consensus now is that war wasn't necessary."

Scripsick's son, Marine Cpl. Bryan Scripsick, was deployed to Iraq in March 2007 to do house-to-house searches and investigate suspicious vehicles along roadsides. Six months after arriving, he was killed with three other Marines in a suicide bomb attack on Sept. 6, 2007. He was 22 years old.

Scripsick of Wayne said his son joined the Marines after talking with a recruiter at his high school.

"I was against it 100 percent," Scripsick said. "He kept saying 'The recruiter said more people die in car wrecks than in the military.' He kept talking about seeing the world."

Henthorn invited Scripsick to some peace demonstrations, and both attended a protest when Bush came to Oklahoma City in September 2008 to raise money for former Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

"We've both become political junkies," Scripsick said. "We're just trying to figure out why our sons were sent to Iraq."

Both oppose Bush's visit to Woodward.

Henthorn said he started laughing when he heard Bush would be visiting the Oklahoma town of 15,000 people.

"I'm not saying anything bad about Woodward. I was kind of shocked by it. I don't believe he should be invited," Henthorn said.

Woodward City Manager Alan Riffle said most residents are thrilled to have a former president visit. Bush will speak in the new stadium at Crystal Beach Park about patriotism, independence and his life as president, Riffle said.

"We're not talking about politics, but the office and Independence Day," he said.

Riffle said protesters will not be allowed at the event.

"There are people out there that do not favor his politics or his decisions as president," Riffle said. "That won't be allowed in the Crystal Beach area. The motorcade route, he may encounter that. He's accustomed to it."

Riffle said he believes Bush agreed to speak in Woodward because of its atmosphere.

"Woodward is very patriotic, a mom-and-apple-pie kind of place," he said. "He has been here previously campaigning for his father."

Scripsick and Henthorn don't believe Bush should be an honored guest.

"He took our military to a war of choice. In my mind, there's a lot of blood on his hands," Henthorn said.

Scripsick said he hopes to make a difference by voicing his anti-Bush opinions in demonstrations.

"I don't enjoy doing it, but I thought Bryan probably didn't enjoy doing house-to-house searches either," Scripsick said. "It's too late for us, but maybe it will help some other kids."

Henthorn said protesting the war and the leadership's decisions isn't the same as not supporting the troops.

"I have respect for the military. I served, my dad served, Jeffrey served. There's nothing wrong with being a soldier. The military shouldn't be sent to a war of choice," he said.

"The chain needs to be broken. My son was a third-generation Henthorn soldier, and I don't want a fourth-generation Henthorn soldier."