The Taliban collection (2006 onwards)
2 June Washington Times - Ambassador Predicts Taliban Ferocity.
Quote:
The Taliban will wage its fiercest campaign of attacks in the coming months in an attempt to hamper the transfer of security duties in Afghanistan from the U.S. military to NATO, Kabul's ambassador in Washington says.
"During the upcoming months, the Taliban will resort to the utmost violence to prevent reconstruction and discourage NATO countries from further deployment," Said Jawad told The Washington Times...
Frontline: Return of the Taliban (Oct 3, 2006)
FYI
Quote:
Return of the Taliban
coming Oct. 03, 2006 at 9pm (check local listings)
(60 minutes) FRONTLINE reports from the lawless Pakistani tribal areas along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and reveals how the area has fallen under the control of a resurgent Taliban militia. Despite the presence of 80,000 Pakistani troops, the Taliban and their supporters continue to use the region as a launching pad for attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Off limits to U.S. troops by agreement with Pakistan's president and long suspected of harboring Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, the area is now considered a failed state. President Pervez Musharraf tells FRONTLINE reporter Martin Smith that Pakistan's strategy, which includes cash payments to militants who lay down their arms, has clearly foundered. In a region little understood because it is closed to most observers, FRONTLINE investigates a secret front in the war on terror.
This documentary is already playing in the Canadian press.
Marc
Pulling Taliban leaders into government?
QALAT, Afghanistan - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said yesterday that the Afghan war against Taliban guerrillas could never be won militarily and urged support for efforts to bring "people who call themselves Taliban" and their allies into the government.....
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/n...t/15664062.htm
Regarding the Taliban.....
I was astonished this morning, as I was going through my morning email subscriptions to find that The Philadelphia Times printed an article stating that Senate Majority Leader Frist was quoted as saying the Taliban will never be defeated militarily. I quite agree with that assessment, and although late in coming, perhaps our civilian leaders are beginning to grasp the concept of counterinsurgency operations? As we all know, it is just as much, if not more a political and idealogical fight than it is military, that perhaps inviting the Taliban to be represented in the new Afghan government might be a tactic worth testing? I posted the article here.....http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=1292
Pakistan's farewell to arms in war against Taliban
There is ample reason to question Pakistan's deal with the tribal leaders and considerable evidence that it has helped the enemy. It is hard to say whether this AP story in the NY Times is evidence of Pakistan responding to the criticism or attempting to look like it is.
Quote:
Police acting on a tip raided several militant hide-outs in southwestern Pakistan and arrested 48 suspected Taliban who had arrived in small groups from Afghanistan, police said Saturday.
The arrests were made during the past 24 hours in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, said Wazir Khan, the city police chief.
However, no important Taliban figures were among the detainees, he said. They were being questioned to determine the purpose of their presence in Pakistan.
...
The last quoted paragraph may say something about the sincerity of the Pakistan effort. What the story does not say is whether the tribal leaders were responsible for the information leading to the arrest or whether the arrest show the tribal leaders are in violation of their agreement.
10 April PBS Frontline - Afghanistan: The Other War
Afghanistan: The Other War - 10 April on PBS Frontline.
Quote:
Inside an underground bunker in a secret location in Kabul, soldiers from an international military force monitor daily attacks from the Taliban, which has re-emerged this year as a major threat to Afghanistan's weak national government. The bunker is manned by members of the small NATO force now in charge of countering a growing insurgency there, as the United States shifts many of its own combat troops to Iraq. In "The Other War," FRONTLINE/World correspondent Sam Kiley confronts the reality of the West's struggling campaign in Afghanistan, with exclusive access to the NATO command in Afghanistan and provocative reporting from the front lines in the run up to a major offensive the Taliban has promised this spring.
Taliban must be involved in peace process: UK Defence Minister
Taliban must be involved in peace process: Defence Minister - AFP 25 Sep.
Quote:
Afghanistan's Islamist Taliban militia will have to be involved in the country's peace process, Defence Minister Des Browne told delegates at the Labour Party conference.
Browne also echoed comments made by the head of the British Army General Richard Dannatt, who said in June that Britain faced a "generation of conflict."
"In Afghanistan, at some stage, the Taliban will need to be involved in the peace process because they are not going away any more than I suspect Hamas are going away from Palestine," Browne told delegates at a fringe meeting late on Monday.
"But in my view, those who convene that process are entitled to say there are some basic parameters that people ought to apply to their engagement ..."
Someone Is Not Getting the Message
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20990358/
"165 insurgents reportedly killed in Afghanistan
Two battles takes heavy toll on fighters, U.S.-led coalition statement says"
Obviously the meds need to be changed...
Quote:
...We fault the Bush Administration, the other embassies, the UN, the EU and NATO for not standing firm on that key systemic reform for transparency, human rights and institution-building.
or this guy has never tried to herd cats... :rolleyes:
Gotta love 'em. :wry:
The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan – organization, leadership and worldview
All,
Great Item in this month's Military Review for those interested in Afghanistan:
The Taliban: An Organizational Analysis by Major Shahid Afsar, Pakistan Army; Major Chris Samples, U.S. Army; and Major Thomas Wood, U.S. Army
Quote:
The Taliban did not grow out of the dark overnight, nor was it unknown in the Middle East, the region of the world most severely affected after 9/11. Following its emergence in 1994 from madrassas, the Taliban achieved surprising victories over its enemies and assumed rule over much of Afghanistan.2 Simultaneously hailed as saviors and feared as oppressors, the Taliban were an almost mythical phenomenon that seemed to embody the very essence of Afghan cultural beliefs, especially revenge for transgression, hospitality for enemies, and readiness to die for honor. The Taliban knew the Afghan people and their ways and embedded themselves in the complex Afghan web of tribalism, religion, and ethnicity.
Despite their quick overthrow in 2002 by a small coalition of U.S. forces and anti-Taliban groups, the Taliban has not gone away. In fact, today, in the face of thousands of NATO and U.S. troops, a growing Afghan National Army (ANA), and a popularly elected government, the movement’s influence in Afghanistan is increasing. It continues to wage an insurgency that has prevented the new government from establishing legitimacy, and it has created massive unrest in Pakistan. Clearly, it behooves us to know something more about this archaic but formidable enemy.
Read the whole thing. Also posted on the COIN.ARMY.MIL AKO and Sharepoint.
Regards,
Major Niel Smith
What insurgent strategy is the Taliban currently using?
All,
An interesting conversation was started in my workspace, and I'm interested in the opinion of the larger community.
What insurgent strategy is the Taliban using currently? Some argue that they are using classic Maoist Protracted Popular War, others a vague neo-Maoist approach, a subversive approach or others.
I am currently leaning to a modern version of a Maoist insurgent model from my readings, but defer to the community's expertise.
If we understand their strategy, we can perhaps combat them a little more effectively.
Lets talk into the echo chamber...
First, I know I'm not supposed to think the enemy is stupid, but in this case they do seem a bit scitzo...
Anyhow, we can parse it out a little....
Political Wing - used to have one, do they still... yes but underdeveloped and largely underground
External support - yes at least in the form of sanctuary in the FATA, but not a nation-state and it doesn't confer legitimacy accept perhaps amongst Pashtuns... so yes but limited
Focus of attacks on AFG and Coalition forces and infrastructure - IO directed at populace
My SWAG is Phase II protracted, with a goal of transitioning to a subversive strategy but not able to position candidates to win / assume seats of government.
I shall return to building pretty slides boss