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| Afghanistan |
| Taliban Regrouping in South Afghanistan |
| 2003-01-14 |
| Remnants of Afghanistan ousted Taliban regime have begun regrouping near the southern border with Pakistan, Afghan officials said on Tuesday. Obaidullah, security chief of the southern border town of Spin Boldak, said minor clashes had been reported recently between Afghan forces and suspected members of the Taliban. He said small groups of Taliban fighters, led by local commander Hafiz Abdur Rahim, were operating in Kandahar, the former stronghold of the radical Islamic militia, and other southern provinces. "They are trying to persuade people to join a jihad. They carry out guerrilla activities in these areas and then flee to Pakistan," he told Reuters. Running back to their protected areas. This will keep happening until those areas are cleaned out. Afghan officials said last week that four people had been killed and one wounded in an armed clash between Afghan forces and Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan. Two Taliban fighters were arrested after the firefight. The Taliban's resurgence in the border regions comes despite the presence in Afghanistan of thousands of U.S.-led foreign troops pursuing the war on terror. SEE: protected area - Pakistan The Taliban regime was overthrown in late 2001 when the United States pounded Afghanistan with massive air strikes as part of its campaign against the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden. Many Taliban fighters took refuge in the rugged borderlands with Pakistan. In recent days posters and pamphlets have appeared in border villages calling for a jihad against foreign troops. Residents of Spin Boldak said last week that posters threatening death to anyone who supported the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai appeared to be the work of Taliban supporters. Khalid Pashtoon, a spokesman for Kandahar governor Gul Agha Sherzai, told Reuters there was still a risk of militant attacks in the southern region. "We have put our forces on alert because of the risks of attacks on foreign forces," he said. But Fazal Deen Agha, a senior security official in Spin Boldak, said the Afghan government would not let the ousted Taliban become a real threat. "There are clear indications of Taliban presence in the region. But Afghan people don't support them," he said. "We will continue our hunt against the Taliban." Open season, no bag limit. Bounty paid for head vermin, also for vermin heads. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 Parallels? Actually, it's more like chasing the Apache across the border with Mexico, circa 1870-90. The national government on the otherside of the border was unable or unwilling to fully cooperate for most of the time. Then the Americans began a full press on the border leaving the Apaches to raid around their Mexican enclaves. That, and the occassional puntive expedition across the border by the US Cavalry, finally convinced the PO'd Mexican government to shut the border down once and for all to the fun. The Mexican government bitched and made noises, but they also didn't want it to degenerate into open conflict with El Norte. |
| Posted by: Don 2003-01-14 19:32:12 |
| #6 Scalping season? Oh yeah! |
| Posted by: Anna 2003-01-14 19:26:32 |
| #5 That's true as far as official US military strategy, but I'm just a disembodied voice on the Internet, so... let's take 'em all on! :D |
| Posted by: Just John 2003-01-14 16:44:03 |
| #4 Step 3 has to wait for a few other steps - regime change in Iraq, regime change in Iran. Only pick a fight with one potential nuclear-capable enemy at a time. |
| Posted by: pj 2003-01-14 11:56:22 |
| #3 Step 1. Formally ask Pakistan to clean out those areas. Step 2. Wait exactly one month while Pakistan fidgets and complains and whines and cries. Step 3. Go in and kill a bunch of terrorists. |
| Posted by: Just John 2003-01-14 11:46:07 |
| #2 Why is it that I keep finding more and more parallels between Afghanistan and Vietnam? The enemy running back across the border to protected Pakland (Laos/Cambodia). Craziness. |
| Posted by: Phil Clemens 2003-01-14 11:44:29 |
| #1 The important thing is, they're bouncing around the border instead of sponsoring al-Qaeda camps in Kabul. Someone should remind the leftist nay-sayers about this next time they squeak up about we "didn't accomplish anything in Afghanistan." |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-01-14 11:37:26 |