Marines are uniquely suited

The action in eastern Afghanistan raises the question of why the Royal Marines and 45 Commando based at Arbroath in particular, have been selected by the Americans, and why the Americans chose not to do the job solely themselves.

The operation, which started exactly on schedule, is the first major action by 45 Commando, specialists in mountain and arctic warfare, since the Falklands exactly 20 years ago

The Ministry of Defence spokesman has refused to say exactly what the marines are doing but at Bagram base the word is that "hundreds of Marines are involved". It is understood that they are part of a large sweep to clear caves in difficult mountains in the east of Afghanistan, close to the Pakistan border.

It is now thought that the al Qaeda military organisation has been rebuilt inside Pakistan, where it is operating freely in the lawless North West frontier province, and in Kashmir. It can be no coincidence that reworked videos of Osama bin Laden have been issued through the Al Jazeera television company as the Royal Marines begin their summer campaign. The aim is to show the al Qaeda faithful that their charismatic founder is alive and operating inside Pakistan.

The main task of the Royal Marines will be to take and clear huge cave complexes which can be used as shelters and arms depots by al Qaeda and their diehard supporters in what remains of the Taliban militias.

The commandos under Brigadier Roger Lane do not expect to capture major leaders in the areas east and south of Jalalabad because it is thought that they fled when Tora Bora fell.

The initial object is to deny the al Qaeda-Taliban alliance seeping back into Afghanistan as the arrival of summer heralds a new fighting season. They expect to pick up valuable clues about the structure of al Qaeda, its tactics and training methods. A huge quantity of documents and materials, including chemicals for weapons, have been picked up in repeated sweeps through al Qaeda positions in the mountains through the winter.

The Royal Marines are particularly suited to this kind of mission, which could require fighting at altitudes above 15,000 feet. The men of 45 Commando trained at altitude for six weeks before arriving at Bagram base a fortnight ago. They can work at company strength, in groups of 100 to 200 at a time, supported by their own 81 mm mortars and a battery of 105mm light guns, most veterans of the Falklands campaign. This where they have the edge over any other Nato troops, including the Americans.

The American soldiers of the 101 Airborne and 10th Mountain divisions are known to have difficulty in operating at such high altitudes.

"It's a question of breathing in such rarefied atmosphere," said one observer of the operations. Recently a scratch British unit of the patrols companies of 40 Commando Royal Marines and 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment were used to clear cave complexes in the south of Afghanistan.

Opposition to the coalition peacekeepers as well as troops hunting al Qaeda and Taliban appears to be growing. Patrols in Kabul have come under fire, rockets fired at allied bases and quantities of rockets found near the main Bagram base. It is thought that what remains of the Taliban and al Qaeda inside Afghanistan are trying to link up with the Hizbi-i-Islami forces of the fundamentalist Mujahideen leader Gulbadin Hikmatyar, who was expelled from Tehran earlier this year.

The Allies are expected to mount operations soon against the hardcore of Taliban forces who are hiding up north of Kandahar with their founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Yesterday a Royal Marines officer warned that operations involving British troops are now likely to go on through the summer, which means until the beginning of October in most of Afghanistan.

Today's operations by 45 Commando are only the beginning. The present battle group, which builds up to its full strength of 1,700 front line specialist troops in the next few days, is expected to be replaced by more British assault forces in late June or early July.