The Taliban is at the “tipping point” of losing the war to the allies and the Afghans. So much for the theory that Afghanistan was lost because of Iraq.
The key to the success may be the increasing use of Predator drones over Pakistan, which do not require permission and are deniable as they fly very high and have enormous range. The BRitish are using another vehicle:
They have also been subjected to strikes by the RAF’s American-made Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle and the guided Royal Artillery missile system, which have both proved a major battlefield success.
The future of this sort of asymmetrical war lies with technology as well as the COIN tactics of General Petraeus. In the 1980s, the Mujahaddeen told the CIA “We are not afraid of the Russians but we are very afraid of their helicopters.” The next generation consists of UAVs that can loiter at high altitude for 24 hours looking for targets.
An MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle based at Balad AB Iraq engaged three anti-Iraqi forces in the process of placing an improvised explosive device along a road near Balad Air Base Monday night, 29 March 2004. The Predator launched an AGM-114 Hellfire missile against the group. The Predator monitored the three individuals for about half an hour while they used a pick ax to dig a hole in the road, placed an explosive round in the hole and strung wires from the hole to a ditch on the side of the road. When it was clear the individuals were placing an IED, the Predator launched the 105-pound Hellfire missile, resulting in the deaths of all three insurgents.
They didn’t hear it or know it was watching them !
Tags: Afghanistan, army, COIN tactics, Pakistan, Predator