The deployment of the British 45th Commando is the logical choice to relieve the American 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, writes Tom Clonan
The decision by Britain to deploy an infantry battlegroup to the Gardez region in eastern Afghanistan is in direct response to a US request for assistance in conducting mountain warfare against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the area. At least 700 of the troops involved in this deployment are members of the Royal Marines 45 Commando based at Royal Marines Condor, Arbroath, Scotland.
45 Commando specialises in mountain warfare and spearheads the British army's cold weather and mountain warfare training programmes. As such, the unit represents the most logical choice to relieve the hard-pressed US 10th Mountain Division currently engaged in Operation Anaconda among the mountainous terrain of Paktia province. The infantry battlegroup, of up to 1,700 troops, will comprise the artillery support, engineering and logistic elements necessary for high-altitude mountain warfare operations. The air-mobile element of the battlegroup will consist of the Chinooks and Sea King helicopters based on HMS Ocean, currently off the coast of Pakistan.
Up to now, British forces in Afghanistan have been confined (with the exception of some special forces units) to peacekeeping and security duties. The present battlegroup is part of what Britain terms its "Joint Rapid Reaction Force". The purpose of this force is to ensure that Britain has at all times "a highly mobile and self- sustained strategic power projection" capable of meeting military and political requirements world-wide. The current deployment exercises this capability and offers Tony Blair the opportunity to provide, for the first time since September 11th, direct combat support to the US-led offensive against terrorism.
The modus operandi of 45 Commando will be similar to that employed by the US 10th Mountain Division. In what the British MOD are referring to as "Operation Jacana", the Royal Marines, under overall American command, will be ferried by helicopter into the mountains north of Jalalabad and into Paktia province. Acting on US intelligence, the troops will then engage in short- and long-range offensive patrolling - designed to seek out, isolate and destroy pockets of al-Qaeda and Taliban resistance. This type of operation in such mountainous terrain demands a high level of skill in rappelling, rock climbing, cliff climbing and navigation in order to achieve proficiency in cold weather mountain mobility - or what the military refer to as "glacial movement operations".
Though deployed during the Gulf War, 45 Commando's most recent experience of this type of warfare was gained during the Falklands War. Arriving on the islands on June 4th, 1982, the unit patrolled on foot to successfully engage heavily dug-in Argentine troops at the battle of Two Sisters mountain on the 11th and 12th of June. The current tactical situation facing British troops will involve al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in strengths of up to 300. Unlike Argentine conscripts, the marines this time will face highly motivated resistance from soldiers who will be intimately familiar with the area of operations. In addition, as the spring thaw approaches, enemy morale and mobility will be on the increase. The British authorities have recognised these factors and are already speaking of possible losses. Geoff Hoon, the British Defence Secretary has warned that the infantry battlegroup "may suffer casualties".
THE current British intervention comes at a critical moment for the Bush administration. It is vital for the allies to consolidate their military successes in Afghanistan by destroying any remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban resistance. Operations "Anaconda" and "Jacana" represent US and British attempts to ensure that al-Qaeda and the Taliban do not have the opportunity to re-group, re-organise and re-assert themselves as a political or military force in Afghanistan. This objective must be achieved in order to attain the political stability necessary for the survival of the current regime in Kabul. The current deployment is designed to maintain operational momentum in the end-game phase of the military campaign in Afghanistan.
So far, the US and Britain have avoided the type of large-scale deployment of troops to Afghanistan, as seen in the Gulf War. Failure to rout the remnants of resistance at this stage might well necessitate a larger, more conventional, military intervention later.
Such a scenario, apart from being anathema to the British and American public, might well jeopardise proposed operations planned for other "rogue" states.
Tom Clonan is a retired Army captain. He currently lectures in the political economy of communications in the Institute of Technology, Tallaght