Taliban Spring Offensive Undermines NATO Stability

It has become a rite of spring during the last three decades in Afghanistan. After months of cold weather, the spring thaw makes it possible for militants to leave their winter shelters and travel off road along remote mountain paths to carry out guerrilla attacks.

In recent years, NATO and U.S. military officials have referred to the increase of militant violence that comes with the warmer weather as a "Taliban spring offensive."

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Comments

[pickwickianmom]

The Afghan government has allowed the Taliban to take control of part of the country--providing no back-up or protection for police officers-who are beheaded and dumped in the town square.

The Pakistani government hasn't been much better.

I don't know what the answer is, but we are heading back to where we were in Afghanistan years ago. Something has to be done, and quickly before it gets worse. These people are dangerous to the Afghan people and to everyone else.

[Tulka2]

Since it is increasingly clear that progressives have been correct about EVERYTHING for the last fifty years, is it too much to beg the crowd to at least consider a sane solution before Afghanistan, the empire eater, swallows us whole?

It's all about opium. If you are not talking about opium, you are deluded. The U.S. should offer to buy the whole opium crop for just a little more than the drug dealers will pay them. This would be so CHEAP compared to the treasure and blood and failure a military excursion will cost. Give the opium to Big Pharma to sell back to us as medical opiates. I know Big Pharma resists such a solution to the Taliban because Big Pharma wants to put patents on synthetic opiates, but tough.

We would make friends with the farmers. Let them grow one of the very few crops available to grow on that god-forsaken landscape and quickly bring them into the future.

What stops such a simple, progressive plan? Military models. Puritan ethics. Hypocrisy. Big Pharma.

Evolve or die.

[SteadyOn]

A very logical solution. However, since al-Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan (now in NW Pakistan), the money that funded the Taliban is dried up. Their new source is poppies, as you know. But the Taliban is in a huge ideological struggle - they will not easily give up their $$ cow. They intimidate and threaten and torture and kill the farmers to grow the crops for THEM. How to solve that one is the question.....

[Tulka2]

Isn't it wierd that in the whole world, it's just you and i trying to figure this out? This story has been up for 48 hours now and no one in America wants to think about it???! I wonder were you are writting from? I am on the American west coalst.

Don't you think Afghani farmers would be happy to be protected by American soldiers if we were protecting their crop instead of being famous for burning it down? I know there are thugs, but with our weapons, i think we out-thug them if the farmer's crop, that is poppy, is being protected by us.

And...i do think it's the thugish drug dealers who quickly morph into Taliban. Same hideouts. Drive people undergroud and they become pals with criminals.

[pickwickianmom]

Throw acid on school girls, make everyone in the part of the country they control huddle by the radio to hear their announcements about who they are going to behead next.
The Afghan people are being terrorized by the violent bullies.