The military readjusts the command structure in Afghanistan…..

[ International troops gather at Camp Bastion, proposed base of a new regional command, before the Marjah offensive began in mid-February, in a photo provided by the British military. ]

As the United States, NATO and Afghan troops begin to push harder into the the heart of the Taliban’s strong holds in Aftghanistan…General Stanley McChrsystal has also begun to change his command structure their……Moving to shore up control over the increased operations and to have the Afghan’s buy into things….McChystal is stepping up contact with the Afghan government and concentrating on putting the ‘surge’ troops into the fight to retake the country without the operation just being driven just by the Americans…..

The Dog is pleasantly surprised with McChsytal’s strategy of constantly changing his game plan, like his enemy, and not falling into the traditional ‘we’ll do this alone…then call ya’ strategy……

Here’s the piece from the Wall Street Journal piece.……

The U.S. and its allies are working to create a new American-led military command in southern Afghanistan, setting the stage for a large-scale offensive into the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

Senior military officials say the new command will manage all military operations in Helmand province, including the continuing campaign in Marjah. The plan would allow the existing British-led command in southern Afghanistan to focus on the Kandahar campaign.

Many of the 30,000 U.S. reinforcements being deployed to Afghanistan will take part in the assault on Kandahar, the most populous city in southern Afghanistan and the Taliban’s spiritual birthplace.

U.S. and British commanders plan to deploy the additional troops to build a security cordon around the city to make it harder for Taliban fighters to intimidate local residents or assassinate Afghan government officials and security personnel there.

As with Marjah, senior U.S. personnel are publicly telegraphing the Kandahar campaign, which will likely start this summer. A senior White House official said last week that the Marjah campaign—the coalition’s largest offensive since 2001—was a “tactical prelude” to a substantially bigger assault on Kandahar.

“Bringing security, comprehensive population security, to Kandahar city is really the centerpiece of operations this year,” the official said.

All military operations in both Helmand and neighboring Kandahar province are currently managed by Regional Command South, which has its headquarters at the sprawling Kandahar Air Field and is currently led by a British general. Under the new plan that organization will be renamed Regional Command Southeast and directed to focus exclusively on the upcoming Kandahar campaign.

At the same time, the U.S. will build a new command, Regional Command Southwest, at Camp Bastion, a rapidly expanding American base near Lashkar Gah, Helmand’s capital. The command will be headed by a two-star Marine general, who hasn’t yet been tapped for the post.

“This is the answer to how we’ll array our troops and reorient the commands to meet the mission on the ground,” said a senior military official familiar with the plan. “It’s basically a done deal.”

The new command would work closely with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who senior U.S. officials are trying to turn into more of a wartime leader. Mr. Karzai was briefed repeatedly on the plans for the Marjah offensive and asked to give it his formal approval, in part so the Afghan government would feel ownership of the campaign there. Mr. Karzai is likely to have a similar role in the run-up to the Kandahar campaign.

The idea for the changes in the command structure originated with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top Western military officer in Afghanistan.

Note:…..This must be burning the ass of old style Army General’s…… that a Special Ops guy is running the show……and doing a darn good job so far….

Turns out the Afghan CIA bombing was a ‘tit for tat’….

The bombing of CIA Forward Operation Base Chapman in Khowst, where seven CIA officers died Wednesday was most probably in retribution from warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani ,who was backed by the CIA in the 1980’s against the Russians…….it is reported that after 9/11 in 2001 that the warlord aligned himself with Bin Laden instead of the CIA…….and thus subject his operation to CIA controlled U.S. Predator attacks…..

While the media has reported this as a neutral incident…the understory is the CIA is hurt and pissed…..the loss of seven of its members will not be forgotten and Haqqani and his operation will probably on the top of the CIA and Predator (UAV) punch lists…….

“If it wasn’t personal before, it sure as hell is now,” a furious counterterror official said Thursday.

Here’s some links……..NY DailyNews…NYTimes…..WashingtonPost……

Note:…..The bombing has highlighted the fact that the CIA is in there fighting alongside the U.S. military, NATO  and other countries military in the Afghan war campaign……

Note #2:……The CIA directed Predator strikes continued after the attack……

Turns out the Afghan CIA bombing was a 'tit for tat'….

The bombing of CIA Forward Operation Base Chapman in Khowst, where seven CIA officers died Wednesday was most probably in retribution from warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani ,who was backed by the CIA in the 1980’s against the Russians…….it is reported that after 9/11 in 2001 that the warlord aligned himself with Bin Laden instead of the CIA…….and thus subject his operation to CIA controlled U.S. Predator attacks…..

While the media has reported this as a neutral incident…the understory is the CIA is hurt and pissed…..the loss of seven of its members will not be forgotten and Haqqani and his operation will probably on the top of the CIA and Predator (UAV) punch lists…….

“If it wasn’t personal before, it sure as hell is now,” a furious counterterror official said Thursday.

Here’s some links……..NY DailyNews…NYTimes…..WashingtonPost……

Note:…..The bombing has highlighted the fact that the CIA is in there fighting alongside the U.S. military, NATO  and other countries military in the Afghan war campaign……

Note #2:……The CIA directed Predator strikes continued after the attack……