euro|topics - US forces start major Afghanistan offensive

Main focus of Friday, July 3, 2009

US forces start major Afghanistan offensive

US troops started a major offensive in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday night. Around 4,000 marines are to drive the Islamist Taliban from their stronghold in Helmand in an effort to stabilise the troubled province before the Afghan presidential elections on August 20. More than 600 members of the Afghan security forces are also involved in the operation.

The Irish Times - Ireland

According to The Irish Times US President Barack Obama wants to restore the credibility of the US and Nato in the region: "This campaign is being coordinated with the enormous one taken against Taliban control of the Swat valley by the Pakistani army, in which some two million people have been displaced. The Afghan-Pakistan border is to be sealed against escaping Taliban, so it is hoped, building up military pressure on them. But they are a formidable enemy, fighting on home ground and well financed by the booming opium trade they control. This new US policy faces grave obstacles if it cannot deliver on its promises to improve security for ordinary Afghan citizens. It is hoped to transfer military responsibility to the Afghan army gradually, although this is acknowledged to be a long game. In opting for a dramatic military escalation Mr Obama hopes to reverse the recent impression of slow defeat or stalemate afflicting the Nato operation." (03/07/2009)

Rzeczpospolita - Poland

Piotr Gillert writes in the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita that Nato's future depends on the outcome of the Afghan conflict: "'We will withdraw from Iraq and concentrate on Afghanistan', Barack Obama repeatedly stated during his election campaign. And now he is acting on his promise. A few days ago the American army withdrew from the cities of Iraq and turned power over to the local authorities. Yesterday [Thursday] they then launched one of the biggest offensives in Afghanistan since the invasion started eight years ago. Thousands of marines penetrated into Helmand Province - until now one of the Taliban's major strongholds. In the end the success of the Afghan conflict will depend on this operation. And because in Afghanistan the fate of Nato is also hanging in the balance, it too depends on the current offensive." (03/07/2009)

Die Welt - Germany

Commenting on the US's major offensive in Afghanistan the conservative daily Die Welt writes: "The new guidelines for troops laid down by the new commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, narrow the scope for air operations considerably. Moreover the Americans plan to set up little outposts everywhere so that help can be on hand immediately when civilians need it. This is one of the lessons learned in Iraq: Only when people believe that the soldiers will remain in the long term will they run the risk of opposing the Taliban and passing on important information about their hideouts to the troops. The Americans have already deployed enough soldiers to Helmand. But overall there are still too few Nato troops in Afghanistan's extensive territory to apply the concept in other embattled regions. Stability is nonetheless a prerequisite for civil reconstruction and for the strengthening of state structures." (03/07/2009)

La Repubblica - Italy

The left-liberal daily La Repubblica praises the carefully thought-out approach of US President Barack Obama in Afghanistan: "If you observe Obama closely ... you'll see that his whole approach, personality and history are not those of a belligerent commander. And they differ widely from the style of those men with a natural and often unfortunate bent for seeing the world in black and white and separating the us from the them. ... The world in which Obama moves, like the story of his origins as a son of Europe and Africa, has many shades of grey. It has nothing to do with the ideological superficiality which - whether rooted in mysticism or character - is essential for waging fullscale wars in full conviction that you are on the side of the right and the good. ... This offensive in the Helmand Valley ... is also typical of Obama. It is the move of a chess master, not that of a duellist ready to fight to the last drop of blood." (03/07/2009)

» To the complete press review of Friday, July 3, 2009

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