Afghan Officials: Islamic State Fighters Finding Sanctuary in Afghanistan
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Afghan Officials: Islamic State Fighters Finding Sanctuary in Afghanistan
Entry Excerpt:
--------
Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.
A lengthy article by Professor Theo Farrell, ex-Kings War Studies, partly based on his first-hand research with ISAF and the Taliban. IT appears on WoTR from an affiliated website.
He opens with:Link:https://tnsr.org/2018/05/unbeatable-...fghan-taliban/Insurgencies are famously difficult to defeat, yet the Afghan Taliban have proven especially so. Accounts of Taliban resilience have focused on both the deficiencies of Western efforts and the Afghan state and on Pakistani support for the Taliban. These accounts fail, however, to reveal the full picture of how the Taliban have been able to survive. Drawing on original field research, this article explores how the Taliban’s success has been shaped by factors internal to the insurgency, namely, the social resources that sustain it and the group’s ability to adapt militarily.
(He ends with) In the end, ramping up the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan risks reenergizing the Taliban’s sense of purpose and uniting a movement that may be beginning to unravel. If the United States is not careful, it could end up bombing its way to defeat in Afghanistan.
davidbfpo
This post will be cross-posted in the thread on ANSF performance.
A report from the probably independent Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) on the recent attack on Farah city. It opens with:It ends with:An attack on Farah city had long been feared. For years now, the Taleban have been taking control of the provincial capital’s outlying districts and inching their way towards the central hub. For a few days in mid-May, it looked as though the Taleban were about to take Farah city, which would have been their most significant military triumph since capturing Kunduz for two weeks in 2015. Their strategy of consolidating control over rural areas then digging in at a provincial centre’s outskirts before launching an attack appears to be an increasing trend. While they lost the battle in Farah on this occasion, the Taleban still pose a serious threat to the area. AAN co-director Thomas Ruttig together with Ali Mohammad Sabawoon, Rohullah Soroush and Obaid Ali unpack the attack and its aftermath.
This is the first of two dispatches examining the recent attack on the city of Farah. This first dispatch focuses on the attack and its aftermath. The second contextualises the attack in light of post-2001 developments in Farah.Link:https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org...e-for-farah-i/With regards to Farah, the fact that the Taleban were only pushed back to positions just outside the provincial capital from where they started their attack means that new attacks can be expected. Farah is only one example for a situation that prevails in at least a quarter of Afghanistan’s provinces.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 06-06-2018 at 02:27 PM. Reason: 180,718v
davidbfpo
Long ago Pakistan detained a significant Afghan Taliban figure, although some contest his importance and via Twitter there is a story:Link:https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/38384...-from-pak-jailMullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder of the Afghan Taliban, popularly known as “Mulla Baradar” has been finally released from jail in Pakistan.
He was detained in 2010, alas the posts about this cannot be found - the search function fails.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 10-22-2018 at 07:02 PM. Reason: 189,535v today
davidbfpo
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