Taliban Show Increasing Strength And Confidence In Afghanistan

Reporting from Ghazni, Afghanistan -- The main highway is "enemy territory" for the Taliban, a busy two-lane road where U.S. troops race down the middle, trying to steer clear of suicide bombers. The guerrillas drive it like they own it.

Grinning with contempt at a convoy of Polish troops trying to plow its way through traffic the other day, three Taliban fighters with guns and long knives concealed under their heavy woolen cloaks calmly eased into the other lane and beat the jam.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[jake106]

They better gloat while they can. With 60,000 U.S. troops on the way, their days are numbered. At least until the day after all the U.S. troops leave, then they will come right back out and nothing will have been solved, but hey...at least we won't have to listen to their B.S. for a few years.

[fonz25]

WTF? I hope they photoshopped that vehicle in or else something is seriously wrong with what my eyes are witnessing, time to get on the horn and question congress. join me , i call atleast 3 times a week.

[rasit]

With an Afghan population of 32.7 million and the Taliban strength of 9000 to 11,000 I don't understand why they are not being fought more effectively, may be asymmetrical nature of the war.

It seems to me that may be the Afghan govt. can negotiate with the Taliban, and give them a province , and whoever wants move to that province can do so, and then everybody minds their own business ...No war, no deaths, no chaos....

[hortonhearsawho2]

Vote of confidence for the Afghan people, how nice.

[WorkingClass]

"But what we are not certain about is whether the international community really wants the war to end. We doubt it, we doubt it."

Exactly. I also doubt it.

[motoGpifupleez]

The legacy of the Cheney/"W" administration grows by leaps and bounds every day that passes.

[mergina]

Legacy? More like a RAPSHEET.

[jazzman]

The Taliban are not going anywhere and what's worse is that they don't have to worry about draining the resources of their country building infrastructure, establishing bases, manufacturing hi-tech equipment or multi-million dollar planes, establishing supply routes, refreshing their soldiers. All they have to do is what they've done for hundred's of years, live off the land, hide in the mountains, and attack when ready knowing that they can do this for a thousand years if necessary.

We're in a quagmire and ultimately we have to lose unless we build the kind of honest political institutions in the country that will garner the support of the majority of the people and will bring stability to this nation. So far, it hasn't been tried and if it's not accomplished expect us to exhaust ourselves over there attempting to just win this thing militarily and come home dragging our tail between our legs.

[RockySoldier]

'winning militarily' means what, exactly? just shooting? the military is conducting a counter-insurgency campaign. counterinsurgencies are 90% political. it's gaining the acceptance and trust of the populace so that they will feed you information on where the bad guys are so you can destroy them and prove that you can keep the population safe. then, the next step is establishing a legitimacy amongst the people for their elected government. once the government begins it's job, it has to improve conditions and life for it's constituents.

it's a counter-insurgency campaign. it's not over in a year or 5. it's an ongoing effort. our military is doing a great job. they just need more support from our government and a bit of sacrifice from an America that was told to just 'go shopping'. yes, america, you have to sacrifice. the troops can't do it all ourselves. time to show that you're worth your constitution. WAKE UP.

[mamacat]

"feeding information on where the bad guys are......"

As pointed out in the article, about half the population supports the Pashtuns. In the south and east of the country, it is not a matter of pointing out the "bad guys", they are everywhere.

Recent articles have quoted the American commander as calling for more dialogue with the portion of the country that is Pashtun, in hopes of ending this mess peacefully. Obama has a reputation for listening to good advice and discussing it; I have yet to see any sign that he acknowledges the complexity of the situation in Afghanistan.

[Name Not In Use]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGO42gvCSPI

[TJCole]

If we only had an Air Force.....that would be great...!

[rasit]

Use drones and take them out the Clint Eastwood style....

[hortonhearsawho2]

Do you feel lucky punk....you gotta ask yourself...