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| Afghanistan |
| StrategyPage: Taliban Offensive Shot to Pieces |
| 2006-05-24 |
| The last two weeks have seen an ambitious Taliban offensive shot to pieces. As many as a thousand Taliban gunmen, in half a dozen different groups, have passed over the Pakistani border, or been gathered within Afghanistan, and sent off to try and take control of remote villages and districts. The offensive was a major failure, with nearly half the Taliban getting killed, wounded or captured. Afghan and Coalition casualties were much less, although you wouldn't know that from the mass media reports (which made it all look like a Taliban victory). The Taliban faced more mobile opponents, who had better intelligence. UAVs, aircraft and helicopters were used to track down the Taliban, and catch them. Thousands of Afghan troops and police were in action, exposing some of them to ambush, as they drove to new positions through remote areas. The Afghan and British governments are both accusing Pakistan of looking the other way as Taliban groups set up shop and openly operate in Pakistani border areas. Pakistan denies this, but anyone who is bold enough to travel to these areas, will see evidence of Taliban presence (including enforcement of conservative Islamic lifestyle practices.) In truth, the Pakistani government has never controlled many areas along the border, and is only now, for the first time in its history, trying to exert control. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #11 Phil, I think it would be hard for him to be too tough w/them but I'm not an expert by an stretch. IIUC, He seems to have issues w/both North & South Wazi-land. That frontier is a ethnic social mess of Yugoslavian proportions. Tribal warfare, blood feuds, and conservative islam - and they're not even arabs. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-05-24 20:14 |
| #10 Can't we use some kind of paper bomb like they had in CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER and blast targets from the air while making it look like a truckbomb? Damn you Tom Clancy for filling my head with easy but bullshit solutions. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-05-24 15:07 |
| #9 The balochis are preventing that gasline from traversing their province and in the process are preventing Musharraf from being able to demonstrate economic benefits from his rule. One reason for trying to be tough with them. They're also ethnically a minority and don't have as many sympathizers in the ISI, I think. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-05-24 13:39 |
| #8 Broadhead 6: What do you think Waziristan would look like if he were even half as tough with them as he is with Balochistan? |
| Posted by: Phil 2006-05-24 13:31 |
| #7 In the weeks after 9/11, my mom and I were sure we were watching a dead man whenever M. came on TV. Surely his loonies or his generals (or both)would kill him. He's a survivor for sure. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-05-24 13:17 |
| #6 JE, Mushi is walking a political tight rope between being hard on the Talibanos and NWPF tribes sympathetic to them and not enciting his own country's islamo-loonies in the process. I think he's trying to quietly get rid of the talibanos w/out looking like W's puppet. If he goes hard and heavy into the NWPF he could lose a lot of support at home. I'm not saying he's our friend (IMHO) however he's prolly better then the alternative. I think our admin sees this and has been dealing w/him on the q.t. about it. I could be wrong but that's my observation of the whole deal. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-05-24 13:02 |
| #5 I wonder what the real reason for Pakistan denile, without looking at the facts. I mean, isn't Musaraff's government against the Taliban too? I'm confused. |
| Posted by: Jesing Ebbease3087 2006-05-24 12:30 |
| #4 The second phase should be going into Pakistan and wiping out the staging camps. Just a thought. Can we say we were lost? |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-05-24 12:12 |
| #3 Every time Coalition forces decimate a band of Taliwackers they start crying that we killed civilians. So keep them out of your house and you may not get blown to hell by a JDAM. Giving comfort and aid to the enemy, tisk, tisk. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-05-24 10:26 |
| #2 Damn, that worked so well on paper... |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-05-24 09:36 |
| #1 Now for the second phase of our counter-attack. Eliminate the MSM! |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-05-24 09:33 |