By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press ServiceFORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, May 2, 2011 –
News of Osama bin Laden’s death raced through the tents and plywood buildings that make up the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team here this morning.
Within minutes of the president’s televised announcement brigade leaders met this morning in their daily battle update briefing, and soldiers checked in by cell phone with buddies on other parts of the base: “OK, just wanted to be sure you heard.”
Task Force Currahee is on its second deployment to Afghanistan, responsible for counterinsurgency operations in Paktika province. Soldiers here smiled as they discussed the death of the terrorist responsible for murdering nearly 3,000 Americans and other nations’ citizens in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
Army Maj. Rob Born, brigade operations officer, said bin Laden’s death won’t require the task force to change its operations significantly.
“The assessment was in many ways, he was more of a symbolic, moral and figurative leader than he was involved in the command and control of day-to-day operations,” Born said. “I think we will find out whether or not that hypothesis was true, and what the impact is.”
He said the task force will analyze the effects of the al-Qaida leader’s death within its area of operation over the coming days and weeks.
“We definitely expect and anticipate retaliatory attacks,” he said. “[But] if they’re hasty and not well planned, it’s not going to work out well for the insurgents.”...
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