Thomas Coex, AFP / Getty Images
Despite 30,000 new American troops arriving in Afghanistan, the country is reportedly more dangerous than it has been at any point since 2001. Taliban fighters, after a surge of their own, are rampant in areas of the country that were once considered safe, and the UN considers 30% of the country’s 368 districts too dangerous for unarmed government employees. In August alone, insurgents launched at least 1,353 attacks, 723 more than they did during the same month last year. Experts believe the buildup of the United States’ military presence is to blame, leaving military officials with the conundrum of how to stem violence. “We do not support the perspective that this constitutes ‘things getting worse before they get better,’” said one Unicef official, “but rather see it as consistent with the 5-year trend of things just getting worse.”
Usually things calm down when the winter arrives.
ReplyDeleteI do not expect that to be the case this winter.
Yes, I think the Taliban surge will continue into the Winter, RZ. Encouraged and fuelled by the political debacle and the continued incompetence of NATO/Isaf.
ReplyDeleteThe tactics make no sense.
ReplyDeleteAfghanistan is huge and rugged country. Tough to get from one place to the other.
The West need logistics.
The Taliban can go form mountain to mountain.
If the West gets tied up in Kandahar, the Taliban moves to a new grid.
They will use classic guerrilla tactics.
There is no hold and build in Afghanistan. There never has been in any occupation.
They keep talking about hold and build but seem paralysed to do anything. It is a syndrome of there being no good or sound purpose to the whole enterprise. Combined with incompetence and the eternal military boneheadeness.
ReplyDelete