MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The landing of U.S. troops near Kandahar marks the beginning of a new stage in the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan, Russian Airborne Commander Georgy Shpak told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The U.S. marines landed on Monday from vessels in the Aravian Sea south of Kandahar.
The new stage of the operation will witness the mounting of U.S. forces in southern Afghanistan, while British and French forces will be deployed in north-eastern Afghanistan, in Mazar-e Sharif, Bagram and other major cities, he noted.
The success of U.S. marines that may soon be joined by paratroopers of the 82nd airborne division and 101st airborne assault division will depend on their readiness for skilled operations in desert-covered mountains and on the right choice of the operation tactics to be applied against the Taliban that have great experience in guerrilla warfare, the commander said.
Shpak commanded the 345th separate paratrooper regiment in Afghanistan from 1980 to 1982 and got acquainted with the mujahedeen tactics in deserts and mountains. He said the Talibal could use their favourite guerrilla warfare tactics which is extremely efficient on such terrain in case the U.S. troops continue mounting in southern Afghanistan and the coalition scales up activities in other regions of the country.
"In this case the effectiveness of the anti-terrorist operation of the United States and the coalition will be reduced to a minimum, and the civil war may come up with a bang in Afghanistan. Americans are likely to be main targets of ambushes in that war," Shpak stressed. An anti-guerrilla war against the Taliban that have combat experience and good knowledge of the terrain, secret caves in the mountains and other connecting routes in the desert will be extremely complicated even for well-trained marines and paratroopers.
Shpak said the outcome of the operation in southern Afghanistan depended on decisive and efficient actions of U.S. forces and their interaction with the Northern Alliance troops in destruction and blocking of the main Taliban forces.
"Religious fanatics such as the Taliban will never accept their loss and will put up resistance on the slightest occasion," Shpak said.