The Taliban is back (Iran, Iraq, enemy, heroin)

[TnHilltopper]

One thing you will not likely hear on this years election campaign speeches or in debates is the war in Afghanistan. Two years ago the Taliban were considered a mere nuisance and all but wiped out. Today however, things are a little bit different.

But now the movement has regrouped and rearmed. Bolstered by a compliant Pakistani government, hefty cash inflow from the drug trade and a population disillusioned by battered infrastructure and lackluster reconstruction efforts, the Taliban is back -- as is Afghanistan's once forgotten war.

The Taliban, Regrouped And Rearmed - washingtonpost.com
In the past three months alone, coalition forces have killed more than 1,000 Taliban fighters, according to Col. Tom Collins, a U.S. military spokesman, while the religious militia has killed dozens of coalition troops and hundreds of Afghan civilians, spreading a climate of fear throughout the country. And suicide attacks in Afghanistan have risen from single digits two years ago to more than 40 already this year.

Now it seems that Gates is considering an additional 3,000 troops to be deployed in Afghanistan to stem the resurgence of the Taliban. It was stated earlier this year by a Pakistani official that US and UN forces were merely the mayor's of Kabul and were losing large sections of the south. Whether true or not, activity among the Taliban has certainly risen over the course of this year leaving some wondering if another strategy is needed in Afghanistan. This does seem to be the case if according to Gates that the Taliban is planning on a spring offensive that might suggest that American forces are on the defensive.

The Raw Story | Pentagon weighs sending 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan (http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Pentagon_weighs_sending_3_000_more__01092008.html - broken link)

"People are suggesting it reflects a deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan, and I would argue that it is more a move of anticipation of what we expect to be another attempt at a Taliban spring offensive," Morrell said.

"The timing is that they would be in place by April, for a one-time seven month deployment to have them in place in RC-South to beat back another attempt at a Taliban offensive," he said.

[JD59]

US to send at least 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan to hold off expected Taliban offensive

The Pentagon is preparing to send at least 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan in April to bolster efforts to hold off another expected Taliban offensive in the spring, military officials said Wednesday.

The move represents a shift in Pentagon thinking that has been slowly developing after months of repeated insistence that the U.S. was not inclined to fill the need for as many as 7,500 more troops that commanders have asked for there. Instead, Defense Secretary Robert Gates pressed NATO allies to contribute the extra forces.

US to send 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan | Newsweek Politics | Newsweek.com (http://www.newsweek.com/id/76558 - broken link)

[Vampgrrl]

Afghanistan is as important as Iraq and I've always thought so despite it being treated as an afterthought.

[madicarus2000]

Originally Posted by Vampgrrl

Afghanistan is as important as Iraq and I've always thought so despite it being treated as an afterthought.

The “afterthought” is based on a pattern of behavior. When the Soviets left the US pretty much left too as the “threat” was no longer there. When the Taliban was routed from power, well the same thing happened, the “threat” was no longer there so the other diversion could be chased.

History has taught us, when we think the threat has gone, it just comes back.

[Who?Me?!]

And don't the Republicans just need a good threat to help them win the election? They can pull out DICK Cheney's old saw about "elect us or there'll be another terrorist attack".
If phony Iran boat threats don't work maybe the Taliban will.

[Mooseketeer]

They've never been away.

[saganista]

Working with a fine coalition, our military went to Afghanistan, destroyed the training camps of al Qaeda, and put the Taliban out of business forever.
-- GW Bush (24 Nov 2003)

So, was Bush just too stupid to realize that this was a lie? Or was he smart enough to know, but just didn't care?

[Mooseketeer]

Originally Posted by saganista

Working with a fine coalition, our military went to Afghanistan, destroyed the training camps of al Qaeda, and put the Taliban out of business forever.
-- GW Bush (24 Nov 2003)

So, was Bush just too stupid to realize that this was a lie? Or was he smart enough to know, but just didn't care?

Maybe he was just too busy distracting the public's attention from the Taliban and Osama with a spurious war on "terror" ( Iraq being just about the most ineffective and unrelated target of all). Then again why should anyone believe that where the mighty Soviet Army failed, the US would somehow succeed.

It seems rather arrogant to believe that an elusive "army" such as the Taliban could just be vanquished with weapons and armed forces.

Guerillas are after all some of the most difficult targets and the most dangerous to our troops too.

Russia got mired in Afghanistan , so did the US. It will be a long time before fighters who work in the shadows can be defeated IMHO anyway.

Arrogance and ignorance of history seem to me the most dangerous attributes of this administration.

Defeating terrorism is a very worthy goal but gung-ho policies and a lack of cultural, religious and national understanding will be the undoing of the US and UK armies if they don't start to get wise to an enemy they haven't got a clue about.

I'm afraid the next "distraction" will be Iran.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by Mooseketeer

They've never been away.

Beat me to it. Very true.

[GregW]

Please remember that the Taliban are a very significant threat to the international multi billion-dollar Heroin trade and must be stopped from cutting off the opium supply like they did n the 1990s.