Posted on 11/05/2007 7:31:27 PM PST by NormsRevenge
HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents have captured a third district in western Afghanistan, local officials said on Monday, defying Western assertions the rebels are unable to mount large military offensives.
The hardline Islamist Taliban relaunched their insurgency two years ago to topple the pro-Western Afghan government and eject the 50,000 foreign troops, expanding their operations further from the mainly Pashtun south where they are strongest.
Western forces say the Taliban's greater reliance this year on suicide and roadside bombs is a result of heavy battlefield casualties they and Afghan troops have inflicted on the rebels and the insurgents' inability to hold ground.
But in the last week, the Taliban have captured three districts in the western province of Farah, bordering Iran, forcing lightly armed Afghan police to flee and defying Afghan and foreign forces to retake the lost ground.
First, Taliban rebels captured the Farah district of Gulistan a week ago, then on Wednesday took nearby Bakwa. On Sunday, the insurgents seized Khak-e Sefid without a fight.
"Khake-e Sefid district fell into Taliban hands yesterday without any resistance from Afghan forces," Qadir Daqiq, a Farah provincial council member told Reuters. A provincial official who declined to be named also confirmed the report.
Taliban forces had been building up around Khak-e Sefid for some days, a Western security analyst said. The rebels in Farah have been receiving arms through a Taliban leader based close to the Iranian border, he said on condition of anonymity.
"There are many Iranians and Pakistanis fighting among the Afghan Taliban," Farah provincial police chief Abdulrahman Sarjang told Reuters.
POLICE MORALE LOW
Afghan and Western officials have often said the Taliban's ranks are reinforced with foreign fighters, but have said they have no proof of any assistance at an official level.
Poor morale among Afghan police meant that up to 38 officers had defected to the Taliban in the last week in Farah, the security analyst said, and those that remained were unwilling or unable to put up much of a fight.
"As soon as the Taliban attacked in numbers they did their best to make a tactical withdrawal -- they basically got out of there as quick as they could," he said. "Their motivation is not there to fight."
Local residents have complained that NATO-led troops, under Italian command in western Afghanistan, have not helped Afghan forces to retake the districts.
"The residents are complaining that foreign forces do not assist Afghan troops to retake the districts," Maolavi Yahya, district chief of neighboring Delaram told Reuters. "They have been complaining for a week now."
As fighting in Afghanistan drags on, frustration is growing among ordinary Afghans that their government and its Western backers have not provided security six years after Afghan and U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in 2001 for not handing over al Qaeda leaders in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
NATO commanders admit they have a limited window in which to defeat the Taliban and provide much-needed development before the Afghan public turns against their presence and public opinion in the West, frustrated by growing casualties, calls for the troops to be withdrawn, handing victory to the insurgents.
(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Jon Hemming in Kabul)
Sounds like the author of this...Sharifuddin Sharafiyar, is quite pleased with the Taliban progress.
Anyone else notice that EVERY single article from the middle east, is writen by a person with a muslim/islamic name?
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
Poor Italians, even the Afghani’s are complaining about their military skills. They can’t win.
“Local residents have complained that NATO-led troops, under Italian command in western Afghanistan, have not helped Afghan forces to retake the districts.”
Everything coming out from Afghanistan the last month says the Taliban is getting their ars handed to themselves. I condider this article rubbish.
I wonder if these provinces are heavily populated. My guess is they contain two dogs and a goat each.
“We are now the rulers of six dogs and three goats. Praise be to Ahllie.”
...read a week or so ago that USMC personnel being deployed into that general area are not “Iraq bound” anymore; time to bring the big boys to theater.
“Anyone else notice that EVERY single article from the middle east, is writen by a person with a muslim/islamic name?”
Maybe that is because the vast majority of people in the middle east are muslims. Just a guess.
Maybe for the same reason why almost every article from Bulgaria is written by someone with a Bulgarian name, or articles from Tulsa Highschool tend to be written by students/teachers in Tulsa Highschool.
Anyways, the journalists might be biased, but chances are that articles on the Middle East and FROM the Middle-East will most likely be written by someone from that region. There are many Western journalists that cover the ME, and even some that are in bureaus over there, but all the same most articles coming FROM the ME will be by people who live there. And those people will tend to have ME names.
So, the only people allowed to write about events in the middle east, must be from the middle east? What, otherwise it isn’t credible or something?
As opposed to all of those undertrained and incapable SF troops and SEALs?
I’d say it is more just the nature of the beast.. or in this case, of Reuters and the folks or reporters they use to gather/generate info, biased or otherwise.. so it is not unusual per se.. besides it’s much easier for them to access areas and sources, they blend well. That’s not to say western news folks would or could not spin the events as well as it may to appear to have spun here, it just may be a bit more dangerous for them to do so.
I think they purchase the articles from writers who live in the middle east. It is cheaper and safer than having someone there from the US. I doubt that the locals over there would trust a non-muslim with any information either. Many newspapers and news services seem to use locals to cover stories.
Everything coming out from Afghanistan the last month says the Taliban is getting their ars handed to themselves. I condider this article rubbish.
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I’ve seen and posted a few of those articles.. Hogwash might be a more appropriate term, but from what is implied, the Taliban are willing to keep risking losses in exchange for successes by seizing weaker held areas and know that their hold is not likely to last when forces are marshalled and focused on those areas.
as Iraq winds down, more attention and pressure will be applied to this area and, as always, Iran is right in the middle of everything supplying both hardware and advisors/fighters. When the boot finally drops on them, the taliban will be caught in a pincer along with Iran. then the real poop will hit the fan..
I agree I think the Taliban are avoiding taking on direct action and seizing lightly defended areas for propaganda victories.
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