Oh no.

A US soldier has been captured by militants in eastern Afghanistan, the US military has said.

The soldier is believed to be the first seized in either Iraq or Afghanistan for at least two years.

News of the capture came as US and Afghan forces began a major operation against Taliban forces in southern Helmand province.

[snip]

A hardline Taliban faction called Haqqani said it had the soldier, but this has not been confirmed by the main Taliban spokesman.

The army was using all its resources to find the missing serviceman, who was taken on Tuesday, spokeswoman Capt Elizabeth Mathias said.

AFP news agency said a commander of Haqqani, named only as Bahram, said the soldier was captured along with three Afghans in the Yousuf Khail district of Paktika province.

The commander said the soldier had been taken to "a safe place".

Another Haqqani commander, Mullah Sangeen, told Reuters the soldier would be held until Taliban fighters detained by the US were released.

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner says the circumstances of this capture are strange and potentially very embarrassing for the Pentagon.

The Taliban are claiming he was drunk when they caught him, he says.

There is no indication he became separated during a firefight - rather that he wandered off out of his base with the three Afghans, our correspondent adds.

Update:

U.S. soldier sold to Afghan militant clan, official says

Just as advisers, right?

Because the last time we did this, it didn't turn out so well:

The United States will send dozens of military advisers to Pakistan to train soldiers who are fighting extremist groups in the country's restive tribal areas, it emerged today, the first meaningful deployment of American troops in the country.

After weeks of negotiations between the US and Pakistan's new army chief of staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a squad of American trainers will arrive later this year to teach soldiers how to handle counter insurgency operations, rather than a conventional land war against India.

The trainers will focus on the Frontier Corps, a force of about 8,500 soldiers, drawn from tribal groups along the Afghan border. The majority of the Pakistani army comes from Punjab and is often regarded as a "foreign force" in the border region, which is dominated by Pashtuns.

Although the original plan sees a deployment that stretches until 2015, the current forecast is that the trainers will be in Pakistan for up to two years. Initially the US military advisers would not be allowed out of their training camps. However, a widely discussed 40-page memo circulating in Washington eventually sees US troops accompanying Pakistani soldiers on missions against the militants.

US troops accompanying Pakistani soldiers on missions? .... What could go wrong?

crossposted at American Street

OH, BLOODY HELL

Because that's what it will be:

The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

The shift follows an internal review involving the White House, the Pentagon and the state department over the last month. Although the Bush administration is in deep trouble over Iraq, it remains focused on Iran. A well-placed source in Washington said: “Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo.”