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.
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.
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.
Read more ....
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.