Taliban Mount Major Assault in Afghanistan
Source: New York Times
Taliban Mount Major Assault in Afghanistan
By AZAM AHMED and TAIMOOR SHAHJUNE 27, 2014
KABUL, Afghanistan In one of the most significant coordinated assaults on the government in years, the Taliban have attacked police outposts and government facilities across several districts in northern Helmand Province, sending police and military officials scrambling to shore up defenses and heralding a troubling new chapter as coalition forces prepare to depart.
The attacks have focused on the district of Sangin, historically an insurgent stronghold and one of the deadliest districts in the country for the American and British forces who fought for years to secure it. The Taliban have mounted simultaneous attempts to conquer territory in the neighboring districts of Now Zad, Musa Qala and Kajaki. In the past week, more than 100 members of the Afghan forces and 50 civilians have been killed or wounded in fierce fighting, according to early estimates from local officials.
With a deepening political crisis in Kabul already casting the presidential election and long-term political stability into doubt, the Taliban offensive presents a new worst-case situation for Western officials: an aggressive insurgent push that is seizing territory even before American troops have completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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Already, areas once heavily patrolled by American forces have grown more violent as the Afghan military and the police struggle to feed, fuel and equip themselves. The lackluster performance of the Afghan Army so far in Helmand has also evoked comparisons with Iraq, raising questions about whether the American-trained force can stand in the way of a Taliban resurgence.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/28/world/asia/taliban-mount-major-assault-in-afghanistan.html?emc=edit_th_20140628&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=68388605&_r=0
7962
(11,841 posts)You cant force an army to be good.
TxVietVet
(1,905 posts)TxVietVet
(1,905 posts)7962
(11,841 posts)But we have India as their natural enemy. If hes was still in office, he'd probably find a reason to invade India, which would empower Pakistan even more. Iraq/Iran all over again!
annm4peace
(6,119 posts)check out their website. RAWA.
look to the left and click on "latest news"
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/