Special Forces O The example essay topic

CONFIRMED KILLS IN THE HUNDREDS " The commander of the operation near Gardez said the U.S. -led offensive had cleared several enemy caves honeycombing the mountains". We " ve got confirmed kills in the hundreds", Maj. Gen. Frank Hagen beck told a news conference at Bagram air base north of Kabul. "We truly have the momentum at this point". He said U.S. intelligence had pointed to 150 to 200 enemy fighters in the hills of the Shah-e-Kot mountain range when the operation began on Friday. By Wednesday, however, he estimated that as many as 600 to 700 al-Qaida and some Taliban troops had filtered into the territory.

Part 1: Changing perspective o The new views from America o Hard choices on defense Part 2: About face on Sudan o U.S. warms to 'rogue' regime Part 3: Who defines terrorist? o For Syria, opportunity and peril o In Lebanon, no black and white Part 4: Distant echoes o U.S. crosses a line in Colombia o Broadcasts make Prague a target Part 5: Spinning on the 'axis' o 'Axis' missiles fall short o Where China fits in Part 6: Special forces o The 'special forces' war o The perils of new tactics 1 of 11 The new views from America "Conservatively speaking right now, I'm convinced from the evidence I've seen that we " ve killed at least half of those enemy forces", he said. Eight U.S. troops have been killed in the operation, seven of them in two incidents Monday in which two U.S. helicopters came under fire. Around 50 have been wounded. Rumsfeld and Franks were peppered with questions Wednesday about whether a U.S. Navy SEAL killed Monday had been executed by the enemy. They acknowledged that an aerial drone had videotaped the incident but said it was still not clear whether the soldier had already been dead when he was dragged off by enemy fighters after falling out of a helicopter". We may never know that", Rumsfeld said.

"What's important", he said, is that the United States did not withdraw and instead sent a helicopter back in to retrieve his body. "The United States is leaning forward and not back", he said. MORE TROOPS, LESS BOMBING Advertisement The U.S. reinforcements were ferried overnight by Chinook helicopters from Bagram. Troops were armed with shoulder-launched rockets, equipped with night-vision equipment and dressed in winter uniforms to combat the sub-zero temperatures. U.S. airstrikes, which had been intense since the operation started Friday with more than 450 bombs dropped, appeared to have eased off as ground troops neared enemy caves and fortifications.

Afghan soldiers back from the front lines 20 miles east of Gardez said a noose was slowly tightening around the enemy". We are getting so close to them now that sometimes we are just shooting with pistols", an Afghan soldier said. Mine sweepers were leading the way, clearing the paths along the snowy mountains. The blitz was concentrating on a 60-square-mile area south of Gardez.