U.S. Heavy Armor Tanks To Be Deployed In Afghanistan For The First Time

U.S. Deploying Heavily Armored Battle Tanks For First Time In Afghan War -- Washington Post

The U.S. military is sending a contingent of heavily armored battle tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, defense officials said, a shift that signals a further escalation in the aggressive tactics that have been employed by American forces this fall to attack the Taliban.

The deployment of a company of M1 Abrams tanks, which will be fielded by the Marines in the country's southwest, will allow ground forces to target insurgents from a greater distance - and with more of a lethal punch - than is possible from any other U.S. military vehicle. The 68-ton tanks are propelled by a jet engine and equipped with a 120mm main gun that can destroy a house more than a mile away.

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My Comment: If there was ever any doubt that the U.S. is escalating the war in Afghanistan, deploying these tanks will end that debate.

On a side note, the U.S. is not the first country to deploy tanks in Afghanistan. The Canadians have had their tanks in Afghanistan for the past few years.