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November 22, 2010
U.S. Sending Tanks To Afghanistan For First Time
M1A1 Abrams tank during a March training session. The U.S. is bringing the tanks to Afghanistan.
U.S. sending tanks to Afghanistan for first time
The United States is beefing up its firepower in Afghanistan by employing heavily armored tanks in Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, a military spokesman said Friday.
The U.S. Marine Corps plans to use a company of M1A1 Abrams tanks in restive Helmand province by early spring, said Marine Maj. Gabrielle Chapin.
The M1A1 tank is the fastest and most deadly ground combat weapons system available. It will allow for more aggressive missions while mitigating risks to U.S. forces, the military said.
U.S. forces used the tanks to battle insurgents successfully in Iraq's Anbar province, Chapin said.
"They bring superior optics, maneuverability and precision firepower that will enable us to isolate insurgent forces from key population centers and provide the ability to project power into insurgent safe havens," he said.
Other coalition forces, including those from Canada, already have used tanks in Afghanistan.
The decision comes as Afghanistan tops the agenda at the NATO summit that starts Friday in Lisbon, Portugal, and amid a public dispute between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO leaders over military strategy.
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Wild Thing's comment........
This surprises me, I thought we had tanks there now. So this is news to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at November 22, 2010 03:48 AM
Comments
"The M1A1 tank is the fastest and most deadly ground combat weapons system available. It will allow for more aggressive missions while mitigating risks to U.S. forces, the military said."
WHY HAVEN'T WE HAD THESE ON THE GROUND!!!!
Posted by: TexasBarb at November 22, 2010 08:06 AM
When in doubt...bring in the heavies! Heavy armor is difficult to use properly in the Afghan terrain. Even harder to use well against fleeting troops like terrorists. This may be more of a show of force or a way to give our guys immediate heavy firepower rather than waiting for air strikes. We have been trying to reduce damage to civilian buildings and tanks are not subtle weapons. About time we took off the gloves and started thumping these jerks with good ol' US steel.
Posted by: petesuj at November 22, 2010 08:59 AM
If the tanks actually help, great. They will be of little use in the hills and mountains. What would really help would be a loosening of the rules of engagement.
Posted by: TomR, armed in Texas at November 22, 2010 10:34 AM
A I think we have all of the US Abrams up graded to M1A2. General Dynamics has been refurbishing and upgrading the tanks as they come out of Iraq over the last seven years.
We have been using vehicles that can be air transported on the smaller planes and out of some only mildly improved runways. That the tank does 50 mph and sixty degree slopes and mounts a 120nn gun gives it a hell of a psycological punch. With Abrams in the area the enemy knows that he can only hold an objective until a tank can get there. That is a big game changer.
Posted by: Avitar at November 22, 2010 02:01 PM
Thank you all for your input about the tanks going there. I really appreciate it.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 22, 2010 05:42 PM
