You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Afghanistan
Kandahar Taliban don't want to be left behind
2011-12-05
Forward Operating Base Howz-e-Madad, Afghanistan
A taste:
Meanwhile, in Howz-e-Madad, Kandahar Province, Maj. Brian Ducote of the First Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, has not given up on delivering a sustainable peace to this patch of southern Afghanistan—one that won't wind up harboring terrorists bent on attacking innocent Westerners. Until very recently the area was a hotbed of insurgent activity and attacks against NATO troops and locals alike. But last week, 15 months after the major arrived as part of the U.S. surge, the battalion had a breakthrough: a letter, signed by several local Taliban leaders and mid-level operators.

"We are ready to give up our weapons if you are ready to respond to our requests," reads the letter, stamped with the Taliban movement's official letterhead, which was seen by the Journal.

Last week's letter suggests it's starting to pay off. The Taliban's core have "black hearts," says the major. But many of its foot-soldiers and mid-level operatives joined out of expedience rather than ideology, and they are now "feeling disenfranchised, as they see the [Afghan] government strengthen. They see that there are local solutions to governance. They don't want to be left behind."
And if they want in, they need to act quickly, before we're gone.
Posted by:

#2  Fear not, Tehran says ....

* TOPIX > IRAN SAYS "NO" TO ANY FOREIGN MILITARY PRESENCE IN AFGHANISTAN AFTER 2014.

After all, Muqtada Sadr is already riled as it is oer in Iraq.

versus

* SAME > INDIA HOLDS PAKISTAN RESPONSIBLE FOR AFGHAN CRISES.

* SAME, BHARAT RAKSHAK > RUSSIA CONSIDERS US PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA A DIRECT THREAT.

The good news for the Bammer + Washington, NATO is that Moscow also feels the same way about Radical Islam in Central Asia.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-12-05 23:36  

#1  Muz are all 1400 years behind the West.
Posted by: Threreter Poodle9625   2011-12-05 17:30  

00:00