The Baltimore Sun14. Marines immobile in Afghan red tapeMultinational force has multiple leadersDate: Friday, April 11, 2008Section: TELEGRAPHEdition: FinalPage: 1ADateline: KANDAHAR PROVINCE, AfghanistanSource: Sun reporterByline: David Wood KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Disagreements and coordination problems highwithin the international military command are delaying combat operations for 2,500Marines who arrived here last month to help root out Taliban forces, according tomilitary officers here.For weeks the Marines -- with their light armor, infantry, artillery and asquadron of transport and attack helicopters and Harrier strike fighters -- havebeen virtually quarantined at the international air base here, unable to operatebeyond the base perimeter.Within immediate striking distance are radical IslamistTaliban forces that are entrenched around major towns in southern Afghanistan,where they control the lucrative narcotics trade and are consolidating theirposition as an alternative to the U.S.-backed government of President HamidKarzai.But disputes among the many layers of international command here -- anungainly conglomeration of 40 nations ranging from Albania and Iceland to the U.S.and Britain -- have forced a series of delays.Unlike most U.S. military operations, even the small details of operationshere -- such as the radio frequency used to evacuate a soldier for medical care --must first be coordinated with multiple military commands.Then, there have been larger disputes over strategy. Some commanders here wantmore emphasis on civic action in conjunction with local Afghans. Others believesecurity must take precedence.For Marines, who are accustomed to landing in a war zone and immediately goinginto action with their own plans, the holdup has been frustrating.Frequent changes among command leaders and unclear lines of authority havemade it difficult for the Marines to win general approval for the timing, goalsand extent of proposed operations.Marine operations planning, which is routinely completed in hours or days, hasgone on for weeks while they await agreement and approval from above."They invite us here ... and they don't know how to use us?" said Lt. Col.Anthony Henderson, commander of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines. "We are trying tokeep our frustration in check ... but we have to wait for the elephants to stopdancing," Henderson said, referring to the brass-heavy international command."The clash is between the tactical reality on the ground and politicalperceptions held elsewhere," Marine Maj. Heath Henderson, deputy operationsofficer for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, told his staff. "You can make yourown judgments about which you think will prevail."

Including the Marines, there are 17,522 allied troops in southern Afghanistan,including British, Dutch, Canadians, Danes, Estonians, Australians, Romanians andrepresentatives of nine other nations, according to the high command.These coalition military forces are assembled under the banner of theInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF), commanded by U.S. Army Gen. Dan K.McNeill, headquartered in Kabul with an international staff.Beneath McNeill are five regional commands and numerous national militarycommands. Henderson's Marine battalion and its parent task force, the 24th MEU,officially are under the command of ISAF and McNeill. But they are assigned towork in conjunction with the regional command here and other coalition forces.Coordination on long-term strategy is complex, staff officers here said,because the commanders and staffs at each level regularly rotate. Regional commandsouth here, for instance, changes every nine months between British, Canadian andDutch officers.With one proposed operation temporarily blocked, Henderson told his plannersto consider a scaled-back option."I think it's a stretch, but let's look at it," he said, adding glumly, "asthe sound of desperation seeps into my voice."The regional command here, RC-South, declined to comment on any commandissues. In Kabul, Brig. Gen. Carlos Branco, a senior spokesman for the ISAF, saidthe Marines "answer to" ISAF but are under the "tactical control" of RC-South. Hesaid ISAF was satisfied that this is the best arrangement to "coordinate andsynchronize" combat operations.In case of a disagreement, McNeill would make the final decision, said Branco,a Portuguese officer.The problems are magnified when Afghan government officials at the nationaland provincial level weigh in with their own judgments. The result, some say, isthat the counterinsurgency campaign, which is inherently difficult enough, suffersfrom the lack of a clear vision and strategy."We don't understand where we are going here," said Lt. Col. Brian Mennes,commander of Task Force Fury, a battalion of paratroopers just leaving Kandaharafter 15 months of counterinsurgency operations here. "We desperately want to seea strategy in front of us," he said in an interview.NATO's only previous experience with coalition combat came almost a decade agowith the air war against Serbia. Afghanistan is the first time the alliance hasattempted to coordinate ground combat among forces that often don't speak the samelanguage or use the same radio frequencies.With British, Canadian and U.S. forces fighting in close proximity here, forexample, their operations officers must agree even on such details as requests formedical evacuation of the wounded: the decisions include who takes the call, whoseaircraft responds and where the wounded soldier is taken.At the staff level, such difficulties usually are worked out with grace andhumor and with a warrior's sense of shared mission. In response to a Marinerequest this week for help with supplies, a British liaison officer wasaccommodating. "You'll get what we have," he said.