KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan government troops repulsed a fresh attack late Tuesday by Taliban fighters massed outside the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah in southwestern Afghanistan and killed at least 18 of them, the provincial governor’s office said Wednesday.

NATO spokesmen said the attack, the second in four days on that city, underscored the growing abilities of the Taliban, who have increased the tempo of their attacks as the seventh anniversary of their ouster from power in Kabul approaches.

The Taliban threat has led to a wide-ranging review of war strategy in Washington and to insistent calls from American commanders for more troops.

For more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/wo...gewanted=print

These attacks are interesting for a variety of reasons. First, they go against the Taliban's normal guerrilla warfare operating methods. Second, despite losing a lot of personnel during the first attack, the TB came back for more. Even though they are losing the battles, they appear to be scaring the crap out of the population in one of the only government held areas in Helmand...a place that was considered "safe." Despite losing the tactical battle, they could win the wider strategic IO battle on this...the people could lose more faith in the government, the security forces may become more scared and maybe they will look to change sides, and this could have second and third order effects on the population in urban and rural areas throughout southern and eastern Afghanistan. I'm not saying it's Tet, but on a small scale it could achieve some of the same things, at least in Helmand Province.

What are your thoughts?