|
In Afghanistan, the Taliban Advance
[STRATFOR] The Afghan government's battlefield victories in certain parts of the country have been overshadowed by the Taliban's much larger gains elsewhere. Of particular concern to the U.S. and Afghan governments is Helmand...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province, a strategic southern region that is home to a sizable Pashtun population and a considerable amount of opium. Despite heavy U.S. Meanwhile, ...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout Montefiore's foot was still stuck and the hound had completely soaked his uniform with slobber... the Taliban have also launched offensives across the country to stretch Afghan cops even thinner, ratcheting up the pressure on Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the Worldand didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... . In doing so, the Taliban are taking advantage of an opening created by the recent changes in U.S. and Afghan strategy: checkpoints. To free up the forces needed for their proactive campaign, Afghan troops have had to weaken and even dismantle many of their checkpoints. This has given Taliban fighters in numerous areas an opportunity to converge on and sever key roads, isolating and coercing the villages caught in the middle into joining them without having to launch costly direct assaults. The Taliban have successfully applied this tactic to several provinces, including Uruzgan and Ghazni. Even in the east, where the Taliban and Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... have long feuded with each other, the two have reached a temporary cease-fire to better focus their efforts on attacking the government. The short-term cessation in hostilities has enabled the Taliban to concentrate on pushing back Afghan troops in Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province, while the Islamic State has expanded its reach in neighboring Kunar. Perhaps more concerning, though, are the Taliban's attempts to rebuild their presence in the north. The threat the group poses to Afghanistan's crucial ring road, which circles the country, is rising, particularly in Baghlan province, where the Taliban are trying to cut off a portion of the road to restrict Kabul's access to the northern provinces. Posted by: Fred 2016-08-18 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=465131 |