Operation Omaid: Lessons Learned From Mushtarak
 
Abdul Halim Achakzai
 
As the security situation escalates in Afghanistan with the passage of each day, International forces in coordination with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are set to start a series of operations against the Taliban in southern provinces where the insurgency is most active. Thus, Kandahar province is going to be the next stage of a major operation against the insurgency in coming weeks and months. The recently dismissed, NATO-led forces commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, had stated that the “forces under his command had started the initial stage of a major operation which concentrated on securing major roads and district surrounding the Kandahar city.”  The operation codenamed, Omaid (‘Hope’) is aimed at pushing back the Taliban from major population centers and extending government authority to those areas that are cleared of insurgents. It is regarded as the second phase of operation Mushtarak (‘Together’) which was launched in mid-February and focused on clearing areas of Nad Ali and Lashkar Gah districts from Taliban domination. Although, it is not very clear how many forces would take part in this operation, a top U.S. administration official mentioned that this operation was going to be both complex and large scaled.(Full Artical,file type (Pdf) 120 KB)