The outgoing NATO commander in Afghanistan on Saturday dismissed the Taliban as an effectively beaten force, despite the group’s threat to launch a spring offensive. Addressing a press conference, the British general, David Richards, said: “The Taliban do talk about a spring offensive . . . I won’t use that term because all they offer is more death, destruction and despair, against the vision of hope and growing prosperity of the government and the international community.”
However he also offered an upbeat assessment of the fight against the resurgent Taliban, saying: “This is a good war, this is a winnable war.”
Gen Richards went on to offer assurances that NATO would kick the Taliban out of the southern town of Musa Qala, which was overrun by Taliban fighters on Thursday night, and restore authority to tribal elders. On the international pressure on Pakistan to curb cross-border Taliban attacks, he noted that Islamabad has “done a huge amount for the international community on the back of 9/11”. Having led the NATO mission for nine months, Gen Richards is scheduled on Sunday to hand over command of the 33,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) contingent to an American four-star general, Dan McNeil. |