Sunday, May 14, 2006

 

Taliban still a lethal force in Afghanistan

From AFP, Four policemen, 11 Taliban killed in Afghan battle:
"In today's fighting, 11 Taliban were killed, four policemen were killed," said Mohammad Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the Kandahar governor.
The point here is not that 11 Taliban were killed, but that there are still Taliban fighters killing in Afghanistan. I am sure if I looked into this, I will find the number of Taliban attacks and fighters on the rise. I am not happy about this at all. But this is what is to be expected when not enough resources were dedicated to the problem of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
What is the scale of this problem? From the article
Panjwayi...is known to be a hideout for Taliban militants who have been waging a guerrilla-like insurgency against President Hamid Karzai's government for more than four years.

The district borders Helmand province which also sees regular attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents said to be allied with the Al-Qaeda network and opium traders.
Also note the US military response:
"We have heard of a national police engagement. There is no involvement of coalition but we're monitoring (the fighting)," spokesman Major Scott Lundy said, "So far, they have not asked for our assistance."
The US knows there is a problem with the Taliban, and that there is fighting and Afghan police are dead and wounded. But since noone is asking for help, there is no need to do anything about the problem. Funny, I thought President Bush has drafted a whole policy of pre-emption so the US would not have to worry about being asked first. Or is it the current military's view that it is best to wait until Al-Qaeda once again uses Afghanstan to coordinate an attack against the US. Wait so this can be an easy justification to start a war against, say, Iran.

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