The assault on Taliban and al Qaeda forces at a complex of caves near Gardez, in eastern Afghanistan, reportedly involved weeks of planning by the Pentagon. Gen. Thomas Franks, the overall U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told the media on March 5 that the offensive was "undertaken at our initiative" and followed military guidelines of "points, places, and times of our choosing."
There has been "no effort made whatsoever to negotiate surrender of anyone," he added.
At least nine U.S. troops and a number of allied Afghan soldiers were killed in the early stages of the assault, launched on March 1.
Unlike the December assault on the Tora Bora caves, in which Afghan troops were directed by a relatively small number of Special Operations forces, the Gardez attack has been marked by the large-scale use of regular army troops--the first such deployment on this scale since Washington's assault began in October. They include members of the 10th Mountain and 101st Airborne divisions. Franks said that as of March 5 about 800 U.S. troops had been sent into action, and up to 300 reinforcements were on their way.
This infantry mobilization notwithstanding, the U.S. command has relied on bombing raids for its primary killing power. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that as of March 4, more than 350 bombs had been dropped from long-range bombers and carrier-based aircraft. AC-130 gunships and attack helicopters have joined the onslaught.
The airborne attacks have employed at least one 2,000 pound thermobaric bomb. This weapon, previously unused in combat, is designed to send exploding fuel and fireballs through caves. Its victims die from burns, suffocation, and ruptured organs.
Some 200 special operations troops from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, and Norway have joined the offensive. Functioning under U.S. command, these forces are drawn from the 17,000 troops of U.S. "coalition partners" stationed in the Central Asian region, only a small fraction of which have been operating inside Afghanistan. French strike aircraft have flown several missions.
U.S. officials reported the involvement of these imperialist forces on March 3. A German defense ministry spokesperson sharply criticized the revelation, saying that it violated Berlin's policy of confidentiality about the activities of its special forces, and that the lives of German troops could be endangered.
'Suck it up'
The big-business media and U.S. government officials have used the fighting and the spilled American blood to try to revive the war atmosphere that had largely been spent in the latter stages of the five-month assault on Afghanistan.
Speaking before a Minnesota audience on March 4, President George Bush offered "prayers" and crocodile "tears to those whose families have lost some life," and added with emphasis, "People say, 'Well, the hard part is over with,' and my answer is, 'No it's not--it's just beginning.'"
"We are in a dangerous phase of this war," he told reporters, adding that "it is worth it, and it is necessary."
In a March 5 Wall Street Journal column entitled, "In War, Soldiers Die," Ralph Peters, a retired U.S. military officer, predicted, "There will likely be more American casualties. Perhaps many more. We may see some American elements ambushed and even wiped out. That's war, folks. You suck it up and keep on marching.... We must not flinch for even an instant. Not even if the casualty figures soar."
The assault on Gardez also prompted spokespeople for the Democratic Party to reaffirm their support for the war. "The casualties in Afghanistan abruptly muted criticism from Democrats, who only last week had begun questioning the Bush administration's explanations for the broadening war," reported the New York Times.
"As we look at our circumstances today, I think there is no question that there is strong support for the troops and for the president's leadership," Sen. Tom Daschle, the Democratic majority leader, told the paper.
Israeli repression, Palestinian resistance
From February 25-March 6, the Israeli government cranked up its military repression of the occupied territories. In the closing days of February, the Israeli armed forces mounted incursions into refugee camps in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, killing more than two dozen people.
On the afternoon of March 3 the Israeli cabinet launched waves of assaults after 22 Israelis died from a suicide bombing in Jerusalem and a 30-minute attack by a sniper at a West Bank checkpoint that killed seven soldiers.
By midway through March 4 Israeli tanks, F-16 fighter-bombers, helicopters, and infantry had taken 16 Palestinian lives in less than 24 hours. The next day, thousands of Palestinians joined the Ramallah funeral of a woman and her three children, killed by a tank shell. "Sharon, Sharon. We will give you our answer," they chanted.
On March 5 the Israeli forces unleashed an even larger-scale offensive on the Gaza Strip, firing on Palestinian targets from the land, sea, and air. The heaviest fighting was reported in southern Gaza, where a dozen Israeli tanks met intense Palestinian fire. Helicopter gunships fired machine guns toward the Palestinian defenders. One Palestinian woman was killed by a shot in the back. Palestinian doctors said that Israeli troops barred ambulances from reaching two wounded men, who died after being left untreated for three hours.
The ferocity of the Israeli assault drew words of concern from U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell, representing a government that has maintained U.S. support for the Israeli government and military, and that has increasingly converged with its militaristic course in the region. "I don't think declaring war on Palestinians will work," he said on March 6.
The death toll among Palestinians since September 2000 stands at 1,067 people. Almost 320 Israelis have been killed--a toll that is also rapidly mounting.
Preparations for attacks on Iraq
The U.S. attacks in Afghanistan, and the escalating Israeli repression against the unabated Palestinian resistance, tend to increase momentum toward a U.S.-led assault on Iraq.
Washington's preparations and provocations have proceeded on a number of fronts.
The conference would "complement a separate gathering of former Iraqi military officers that is being organized later this month in Washington by the Iraqi National Congress," reported the Chicago Tribune on March 1.
"American officials are increasing contacts with two Kurdish groups that control areas of northern Iraq to determine whether they could form the vanguard of a U.S.-led military operation, similar to the role the Northern Alliance played in...Afghanistan," added the newspaper.
British prime minister Anthony Blair backed the Bush administration's war preparation in a March 3 interview with an Australian television channel. "Iraq is in breach of all the United Nations resolutions on weapons inspectors," he said. "We know they are trying to accumulate these weapons of mass destruction, we know he's prepared to use them. So this is a real issue but how we deal with it, that's a matter we must discuss."
The foreign affairs spokesperson of the opposition Tory Party supported Blair's position. By contrast, Tam Dalyell, a member of parliament for Blair's Labour Party, denounced the prime minister's "warmongering propensities." The statement reflected substantial divisions within the ruling party.
Related article:
End imperialist assault on Afghanistan! U.S. out!
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