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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| Nato to launch Helmand offensive | Nato to launch Helmand offensive |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| UK and other Nato troops are to launch an offensive to take back areas of southern Afghanistan, the British general in charge of forces there says. | UK and other Nato troops are to launch an offensive to take back areas of southern Afghanistan, the British general in charge of forces there says. |
| Maj Gen Nick Carter said the operation would "assert the control" of the Afghan government in parts of Helmand now controlled by the Taliban. | Maj Gen Nick Carter said the operation would "assert the control" of the Afghan government in parts of Helmand now controlled by the Taliban. |
| He told BBC Radio 4's The World At One that Helmand was "a work in progress, with parts simply ungoverned". | He told BBC Radio 4's The World At One that Helmand was "a work in progress, with parts simply ungoverned". |
| There have been 251 UK service member deaths in Afghanistan since 2001. | There have been 251 UK service member deaths in Afghanistan since 2001. |
| Gen Carter said that if parts of Helmand were governed at all, "it's by parallel governments provided often by the Taliban". | Gen Carter said that if parts of Helmand were governed at all, "it's by parallel governments provided often by the Taliban". |
| He added: "If we're going to win the argument on behalf of the Afghan government... then we need to assert the government's control over those areas which are at the moment ungoverned." | He added: "If we're going to win the argument on behalf of the Afghan government... then we need to assert the government's control over those areas which are at the moment ungoverned." |
| 'Ownership of responsibility' | 'Ownership of responsibility' |
| The news comes as Nato's top commander in Afghanistan, US Gen Stanley McChrystal, said increased troop levels could bring a negotiated peace with the Taliban. | The news comes as Nato's top commander in Afghanistan, US Gen Stanley McChrystal, said increased troop levels could bring a negotiated peace with the Taliban. |
| He said a political solution in all conflicts was "inevitable". Also, the top UN envoy in Kabul, Kai Eide, called for some senior Taliban leaders to be removed from a UN list of terrorists as a prelude to direct talks. | He said a political solution in all conflicts was "inevitable". Also, the top UN envoy in Kabul, Kai Eide, called for some senior Taliban leaders to be removed from a UN list of terrorists as a prelude to direct talks. |
| Gen Carter, who took over the control of Nato forces in southern Afghanistan in late 2009 and leads 45,000 servicemen and women, refused to say when this latest operation would begin. | Gen Carter, who took over the control of Nato forces in southern Afghanistan in late 2009 and leads 45,000 servicemen and women, refused to say when this latest operation would begin. |
| ANALYSIS Martha Kearney, BBC Radio 4's The World At One, Kabul | ANALYSIS Martha Kearney, BBC Radio 4's The World At One, Kabul |
| At Kandahar airbase in the south of the country, Nato commanders are currently masterminding the plans, made possible by the huge increase in US forces agreed recently by President Obama. But given the deaths suffered during the last major offensive in Helmand, Panther's Claw, there will be trepidation about the possibility of more casualties. | At Kandahar airbase in the south of the country, Nato commanders are currently masterminding the plans, made possible by the huge increase in US forces agreed recently by President Obama. But given the deaths suffered during the last major offensive in Helmand, Panther's Claw, there will be trepidation about the possibility of more casualties. |
| Senior military figures acknowledge there will be some, and the BBC has been told that there are many improvised explosive devices (roadside bombs) in the area. | Senior military figures acknowledge there will be some, and the BBC has been told that there are many improvised explosive devices (roadside bombs) in the area. |
| Maj Gen Nick Carter went to Kabul last Thursday to brief President Karzai about the operation. Senior Afghans have promised full support and have welcomed the fact there will be a full gathering of tribal elders before the operation takes place. | Maj Gen Nick Carter went to Kabul last Thursday to brief President Karzai about the operation. Senior Afghans have promised full support and have welcomed the fact there will be a full gathering of tribal elders before the operation takes place. |
| But there's a strong sense among senior Nato figures that military success will go nowhere without political progress, which is why hopes are being pinned on this week's Afghan conference in London, being chaired by President Karzai. | But there's a strong sense among senior Nato figures that military success will go nowhere without political progress, which is why hopes are being pinned on this week's Afghan conference in London, being chaired by President Karzai. |
| The World At One will come live from Kabul at 1300 GMT on Thursday 28 January | The World At One will come live from Kabul at 1300 GMT on Thursday 28 January |
| The area likely to be targeted includes central Helmand and to the west and south-west of Lashkar Gah, parts of which have not been under Afghan government control for months or in some cases years. | The area likely to be targeted includes central Helmand and to the west and south-west of Lashkar Gah, parts of which have not been under Afghan government control for months or in some cases years. |
| Gen Carter said there were signs Afghans in the area were taking a greater role in operations. | Gen Carter said there were signs Afghans in the area were taking a greater role in operations. |
| "[There has been] a transition, about the Afghans taking 'ownership of the responsibility'. | "[There has been] a transition, about the Afghans taking 'ownership of the responsibility'. |
| "What I've been very struck about... is the way the provincial governor, Governor Mangal, and the Afghan army and Afghan police wish to take ownership of this problem. | "What I've been very struck about... is the way the provincial governor, Governor Mangal, and the Afghan army and Afghan police wish to take ownership of this problem. |
| "And when they do, there is an Afghan answer to the problem. | "And when they do, there is an Afghan answer to the problem. |
| "Afghans are standing up and being counted and that makes a big difference to what happens on the ground." | "Afghans are standing up and being counted and that makes a big difference to what happens on the ground." |
| Gen Carter said the strategy of increased co-ordination with local political and military forces was designed to help minimise casualties. | Gen Carter said the strategy of increased co-ordination with local political and military forces was designed to help minimise casualties. |
| "What's really important... is that if there is a conversation before the operation between the Afghans and the maliks, or the village leaders, on the ground, and it is explained to them what will happen when the government asserts control and authority over those areas, we often find the Afghans don't fight - but they will welcome you," he said. | "What's really important... is that if there is a conversation before the operation between the Afghans and the maliks, or the village leaders, on the ground, and it is explained to them what will happen when the government asserts control and authority over those areas, we often find the Afghans don't fight - but they will welcome you," he said. |
| Part of this strategy has also seen Gen Carter brief Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the governor of Helmand province, Gulab Mangal, and Gen Sher Muhammad Zazai, who is in charge of the Afghan army in the south of the country. | Part of this strategy has also seen Gen Carter brief Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the governor of Helmand province, Gulab Mangal, and Gen Sher Muhammad Zazai, who is in charge of the Afghan army in the south of the country. |
| FROM THE WORLD AT ONE Hear the full interview | FROM THE WORLD AT ONE Hear the full interview |
| Similar co-ordination had led to recent successes, added Gen Carter. | Similar co-ordination had led to recent successes, added Gen Carter. |
| He pointed to an operation led by Canadian forces to the west of Kandahar in the past three months "where not a shot was fired". | He pointed to an operation led by Canadian forces to the west of Kandahar in the past three months "where not a shot was fired". |
| An operation by the Grenadier Guards in central Helmand province had been equally effective, he said. | An operation by the Grenadier Guards in central Helmand province had been equally effective, he said. |
| "It was preceded by an Afghan-led conversation run by the district governor, and through that process you discover the Afghans welcome you in, rather than it becoming a fight," Gen Carter said. | "It was preceded by an Afghan-led conversation run by the district governor, and through that process you discover the Afghans welcome you in, rather than it becoming a fight," Gen Carter said. |
| An earlier offensive, Operation Panther's Claw, was launched in Afghanistan in June and July last year. | An earlier offensive, Operation Panther's Claw, was launched in Afghanistan in June and July last year. |
| Ten soldiers died during that operation, which focused on an area the size of the Isle of Wight between Helmand's provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, and its economic capital, Gereshk. | Ten soldiers died during that operation, which focused on an area the size of the Isle of Wight between Helmand's provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, and its economic capital, Gereshk. |
| Gen Carter also said he did not know when UK troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan, but suggested he could give a "better estimate" in nine months' time. | Gen Carter also said he did not know when UK troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan, but suggested he could give a "better estimate" in nine months' time. |
| Operation Panther's Claw concentrated on the area between Lashkar Gah and Gereshk |