Special forces suspect security leaks

NARIZAH, Afghanistan -- Flying American flags atop Humvees, U.S. Army Special Forces swept through villages in southeastern Afghanistan last week in search of al-Qaida and Taliban.

In most cases, however, the people and weapons the troops expected to find were gone, leading them to suspect that Operation Mountain Sweep, which ended Sunday, was compromised by security leaks.

"I wouldn't say it wasn't successful," said Sgt. 1st Class Dwight Smith, a special operations soldier. "It's been going OK. We've recovered some caches. But it could be better."

More than 2,000 coalition troops, including U.S. special forces, paratroopers and civil affairs specialists, took part in the eight-day operation in the rugged mountain terrain along the border with Pakistan.

They found weapons, two caches of Taliban documents and took 10 people into custody. But main al-Qaida and Taliban units were nowhere to be found.

Instead, they turned up cooperative village leaders and curious children -- even though intelligence reports said the area is rife with Taliban and al-Qaida sympathizers, some of them masters of guerrilla warfare they learned fighting the Soviets in the 1980s.

Maj. Craig Osborne, an operations officer, suspects the enemy knew the Americans were coming.

"I have no firsthand knowledge of that, but there is some speculation of that," he said.

The operations around Narizah, a mud-hut village in Khost province less than 6 miles from the Pakistan border, were typical and underscored U.S. frustrations.

U.S. intelligence had reported an unusually large number of vehicles and armed men around the village. As paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division set up a security cordon around the area, troops from the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group-Airborne approached the village.

Lost element of surprise

Dozens of Afghan men and boys stared as Humvees and trucks rolled into the center of the village.

Respectful of local customs, the Americans waited in the village center for the village elders. The soldiers told them they suspected there were weapons in the village and asked that Afghan militiamen be allowed to search. The Americans said they would wait until the women could be isolated from foreign eyes.

Village leaders withdrew to consult and then gave their approval. After searching each house, the Afghan fighters told the Americans what they had found. The Americans then went inside themselves, surveying the weapons and confiscating most, leaving one rifle per household.

Although the troops found little at Narizah, they believed their intelligence was correct and the village was an al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold. The Americans had lost the element of surprise. Some suspected the enemy heard helicopters dropping troops in the area the night before the raid.

"We've done a lot of aircraft traffic in this area, and I think they knew we were probably coming eventually," Master Sgt. Curtis Curry said. "I really didn't expect to find a whole lot. And that's what we found."

At Bagram air base, the U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan, military spokesman Col. Roger King insisted that Operation Mountain Sweep was a success.

"It met the objectives in that the presence in the area confirmed some intelligence that we had," King said Monday. "As always, by our very presence there, we were able to provide some stability."