Taliban Attack Kills 9 U.S. Soldiers, Wound 15 More -- A Summary Of What Happened And What We Are Learning

From the New York Times:

Taliban Breached NATO Base in Deadly Clash

The Taliban insurgents who attacked a remote American-run outpost near the Pakistan border on Sunday numbered nearly 200 fighters, almost three times the size of the allied force, and some breached the NATO compound in a coordinated assault that took the defenders by surprise, Western officials said Monday.

The attackers were driven back in a pitched four-hour battle, and they appeared to suffer scores of dead and wounded of their own, but the toll they inflicted was sobering. The base and a nearby observation post were held by just 45 American troops and 25 Afghan soldiers, two senior allied officials said, asking for anonymity while an investigation is under way.

With nine Americans dead and at least 15 injured, that means that one in five of the American defenders was killed and nearly half the remainder were wounded. Four Afghan soldiers were also wounded.

American and Afghan forces started building the makeshift base just last week, and its defenses were not fully in place, one of the senior allied officials said. In some places, troops were using their vehicles as barriers against insurgents.

The militants apparently detected the vulnerability and moved quickly to exploit it in a predawn assault in which they attacked from two directions, American officials said.

...

The surprise attack underscored the vulnerability of American forces in Afghanistan, which are increasingly stretched thin as they are dispatched to far-flung and often isolated mountainous outposts with their Afghan allies. The United States now has about 32,000 troops in Afghanistan, about one-fifth the number in Iraq, even though Afghanistan is half-again as large as Iraq.

American commanders and NATO military officials said the assault had also reflected boldness among insurgents who had benefited from new bases in neighboring Pakistan.

It underscored the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, where war casualties have jumped this year and where American commanders have said repeatedly that their force is undermanned.

The fact that the base, on the western side of Kunar Province, was staffed by just 70 soldiers was first reported Monday by The Los Angeles Times. The death toll amounted to the worst single loss for the American military in Afghanistan since June 2005 and one of the worst since the Taliban and their Qaeda associates were routed in late 2001.

...

More News On This Taliban Attack

Attack Spotlights Taliban Strength -- Wall Street Journal
Taliban Flexing Muscle in Afghanistan -- ABC News
Outpost attack in Afghanistan shows major boost in militant strength -- Christian Science Monitor
Afghan attack resonates in Washington -- Asia Times
Deadly Taliban attack on U.S. bases raises concerns -- LA Times
Taliban surprise attack well planned -- Seattle Times
Base survives close battle with Taleban -- Times Online
Taliban breached NATO base in deadly clash -- International Herald Tribune
Details Emerge in Deadly Afghan Attack -- Wired/The Danger Room
U.S. troops bolster remote Afghan base after Taliban assault kills 9 -- CBC News
UPDATE 1-U.S. troops died in Taliban attempt to storm base -- Reuters
Deaths Highlight Need for Pakistani Cooperation in Afghanistan -- Defense Link
Nine U.S. Soldiers Killed in Kunar, Afghanistan: What Can We Learn? -- Captain's Journal
Joint al Qaeda and Taliban force behind Kunar base attack -- Long War Journal

My Comment: If another attack of this magnitude happens again this summer, everyone must come to the conclusion that this war has a better than 50% chance of becoming a very messy conflict.

Some of my observations of this attack:

1) Coalition forces moved to this new base because they were under repeated attack from an older outpost. i.e. they were already being chased out.
2) This strike also signifies "a change in the role of airpower. Usually, air support has ensured and enlarged victory. In this attack, based on the press, its role was to prevent defeat.
3) Bodies of Taliban soldiers were left in the base .... this was hand to hand combat.
4) This was a new American outpost, only a few days old. But still the Taliban were able to gather a large force, move it many miles undetected, gather in one place, and have enough time to organize, plan, and execute the attack.
5) This battle did not occur in the south where most of the fighting is occurring, but in the North-East.
6) Pakistan must cooperate .... if they do not this will alter the strategic alliance between Pakistan and the West very quickly.