From Times Online:
THE United States is building a command structure in Kandahar that will sideline the British general who takes command of southern Afghanistan in May.
Brigadier-General John Nicholson, a senior American officer who previously served in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division, has already arrived in Kandahar to oversee the Afghan “surge”.
Although technically he will be subordinate to the British general who takes command in May, he will in reality have control of all US troops, UK defence sources said last week.
Nicholson’s bombproof, rocket-proof command centre will dwarf the British general’s headquarters, which ostensibly controls operations across southern Afghanistan.
The takeover will be complete by the autumn of next year when the US will assume permanent control of the south, which at present rotates between the British, Canadians and Dutch. The move to sideline the British comes amid tensions between the two countries’ armies over what the Americans see as British military failures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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My Comment: The British experience in Helmund Province of Southern Afghanistan has been a failure. There has been forward progress in the past month, but the repeat of the same tactics that were used in Basra, Iraq .... are repeating the same mistakes and problems in Afghanistan.
Not enough soldiers and equipment, a lack of will to fight from the political leadership, and no support back home .... this and much more has undermined the British mission in the country.
The Americans are now coming in with thousands of soldiers and equipment .... this is going to change the dynamics on the ground dramatically.