Thousands of U.S. soldiers are preparing an operation against Taliban insurgents to preempt an expected spring offensive which could upset plans for Afghan parliamentary elections, a senior American general said in an interview Tuesday.
The operation will begin within days of the Dec. 7 inauguration of Hamid Karzai as Afghanistan's first directly elected president - an event that itself is a potential target, Maj. Gen. Eric Olson told The Associated Press.
"There could be an unhappy coincidence between the enemy's spring offensive and the parliamentary elections," Olson said at the main U.S. base at Bagram, north of Kabul.
He said the aim is to tighten the Afghan-Pakistan border by sending special forces on raids against rebel leaders.
Olson said the offensive - which will cover the
entire U.S.-led force of about 18,000 - would attempt to disturb militants in their "winter sanctuaries" so that they will be in no shape to move against the parliamentary vote slated for April.
full article may be found here: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBPON7K62E.html 
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