About 18,000 American troops have started a winter-long operation against Taliban rebels in Afghanistan, vowing to eliminate insurgents who could threaten parliamentary elections slated for the spring.The U.S. military said Saturday that it hoped the new push, dubbed Lightning Freedom, would convince insurgents to accept an amnesty pushed by President Hamid Karzai to help stabilize the country and allow foreign troops to pull back.”It’s designed basically to search out and destroy the remaining remnants of Taliban forces who traditionally we believe go to ground during the winter months,” spokesman Maj. Mark McCann said. “It’s going on throughout the country of Afghanistan.”The operation was initiated after Karzai’s inauguration Tuesday as the country’s first democratically elected president, McCann said. He didn’t know exactly when it began and gave no details of any specific moves against militant targets.However, Maj. Gen. Eric Olson, the No. 2 American commander here, told The Associated Press last month that the operation would include a redeployment to tighten security on the border with Pakistan and raids by special forces to snatch rebel leaders.Full Story
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