Report: Taliban Control Half of Afghanistan (Country in "Serious Danger" of Being Taken Over)

[Hissyspit]

Source: Telegraph UK

Taliban control half of Afghanistan, says report
Last Updated: 2:36am GMT 22/11/2007

The Taliban has a permanent presence in most of Afghanistan and the country is in serious danger of falling into the group's hands, according to a report from an international think tank. The Senlis Council claimed that the insurgents controlled "vast swathes of unchallenged territory" and were gaining "more and more political legitimacy in the minds of the Afghan people".

It said that the Nato force in the country needed to be doubled to 80,000 front-line soldiers who should be allowed to pursue militants into Pakistan.

The 110-page report said that its "exclusive" research found the Taliban controlled 54 per cent of Afghanistan. It calculated that Nato countries should contribute 2.3 soldiers per £500 million of their GDP to provide 71,000 soldiers, with 9,000 additional troops coming from Muslim nations.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/22/wtaliban122.xml

[msongs]

1. another gw bush failure- his old man can't bail out this time and dems....welll nt

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Chimptastic!

[boricua79]

10. wow...

i've seen Bush chimp pictures...but THAT one is scary.

Anyone else is reminded of the movie "THey Live"?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. I call it "Chimp(y) Revealed."

[NanceGreggs]

3. Maybe we need a 'surge' in Afghanistan ...

... because it's obviously working so well in Iraq.

:sarcasm:

[seriousstan]

4. Afghanistan will be happier under Taliban rule. Those uppity women will be put in their place.

That's for sure.

:eyes:

[daleo]

8. Just like they are in Saudi Arabia

The longtime U.S. ally.

[tabasco]

5. Gotta be a misprint.

The Commander Guy said the Taliban was no more.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/06/20030619-2.html

"We sent a clear message to the Taliban in Afghanistan: if you harbor and train terrorists, you will be held account. The Taliban is no more, and the people of Afghanistan are free, thanks to America and our friends and allies."

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. More than half of Afghanistan 'under Taliban'

Source: The Independent
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article3182330.ece

More than half of Afghanistan 'under Taliban'

By Kim Sengupta
Published: 22 November 2007

More than half of Afghanistan is back under Taliban control and the Nato force in the country needs to be doubled in size to cope with the resurgent group, a report by the Senlis Council think-tank says. A study by the group found that the Taliban, enriched by illicit profits from the country's record poppy harvest, had formed de-facto governments in swathes of the southern Pashtun belt.

The Afghan government and its Nato allies strongly deny the Senlis version of what is taking place in the country and say the extent of alleged Taliban control – 54 per cent – is a major exaggeration. In particular, British troops in Helmand have, in recent months, recovered territory lost to the Islamist group.

But senior defence sources say that a lack of frontline combat forces has meant that areas clawed back from the Taliban often cannot be held and have to be retaken after costly and fierce fighting. There is also an acknowledgement that the dangers on the ground have meant that aid efforts are being stymied.

The Senlis Council made a name for itself by advocating that Afghan opium, which supplies 93 per cent of the world market, should be regulated and produced for medicinal purposes. The organisation had been regarded in the past as very much a fringe body with unrealistic policies.

But it has recently begun to hold seminars with influential think-tanks such as the International institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which are attended by senior diplomats and military commanders. Last month, the European Parliament passed a motion urging the production of opium for medicine on an experimental basis by a sizeable majority.

...

[LynnTheDem]

7. The Taliban; 54. George W. bUsh; loser

Yet again.

[Baby Snooks]

9. "Charlie Wilson's War"

The Taliban was trained by the CIA to help the warlords fight off the Russians. The problem was the warlords were worse than the Russians. So after the Russians were taken care of, the Taliban took care of the warlords. The history of Afghanistan within the framework of "Charlie Wilson's War" gets a little fuzzy around the edges. Reality of the history of Afghanistan is that it is proof positive we should learn finally to stay out of everyone else's business.

What do you get when you combine a CIA agent, a Democratic congressman and a ditzy Republican socialite/diplomat? A disaster. The Bushes, apart from the CIA, cannot claim this one as their own.

Of course the ditzy Republican socialite/diplomat was married to the head of Houston Natural Gas. Which became Enron. So who knows.

The only thing for sure is that the Taliban were trained and armed by our CIA to fight the Russians. Among the radical Muslims who made up the Taliban was Osama bin Laden. Which lends some irony to it all.

It should be interesting to see what Tom Hanks has done with history. Recorded it or revised it.

[Hulk]

11. We took our eye off the ball.....nuff said.

[Islander Expat]

12. Better send Johnny Rambo back over there...

tell him the Mujahedeen are the "bad" guys this time.

[Fool_Me_Once]

13. I believe Tony Blair said it best...

"When we removed the Taliban and Saddam Hussein," Blair told Congress in 2003, "this was not imperialism. For these oppressed people, it was their liberation."

But, But how could they be taking over? The Taliban that is....

[Fool_Me_Once]

14. and let's not forget the Commander-in-thief

Bush: “Working with a fine coalition, our military went to Afghanistan, destroyed the training camps of Al Qaida, and put the Taliban out of business forever.” <11/24/03>

Bush: “Because of American soldiers and our brave allies and friends, who have fought beside them, the Taliban is out of business.” <3/15/02>

Bush: “Our first objective in the first theater against the war against terror has been achieved: The Taliban are out of business.” <2/4/02>

Bush: “Now thanks to the United States and our fine allies, Afghanistan is no longer a haven for terror, the Taliban is history, and the Afghan people are free.” <8/14/03>

Bush: “Today, Afghanistan is a world away from the nightmare of the Taliban.” <7/12/04>

[babylonsister]

16. The bloom seems to be off the rose of this flourishing democracy.

Who'd a thunk it?

[tanyev]

17. I wonder if the Taliban will let Laura come take one last photo-op tour.

Look how wonderful things are now! Look how much better it is for women and children! My husband is the best president ever!

[frankieT]

18. When will they understand that the TALIBAN

are AFGHAN ? No surprise they're regaining the country, they're the only political force in the country and they represent a vast majority of the population, wether our compassionate free-women-in-stockings-lovers accept it or not.

[NuttyFluffers]

20. that's pretty much the crux of it. Afghanis want Afghanistan for Afghanis.

they really don't care who or what else the other side is, they just want it purely afghani (whatever that is). looking at their history they have deep xenophobic roots and will hate and kill any assumed proxy gov't trying to impose an outsider's will on them, even if there is an afghani face on it. they want foreigners out and will not stop until they are out. and they are stubborn enough and routinely successful enough throughout history to get it. the best we could have done would have been getting the taliban out, get bin Laden, and then walking out ourselves while maintaining trade. anything else would have been seen as hostile outsiders taking over their country again.

[davidinalameda]

21. uh no

the Afghanis want stability and the Taliban can provide it

they can also show that they provided that stability when they were in control, even though they're causing the instability now

[ohio2007]

19. A NATO live case study as to why running a war "by committee" isn't working

And whatever happens in Afghanistan has a ripple effect going across the border


QUETTA, Nov 21: Baloch leader Nawabzada Balach Marri was killed along with his bodyguards in a clash somewhere inside Afghanistan on Wednesday, triggering widespread violence in Quetta and some other parts of Balochistan.


Nawabzada Balach Marri, who was the youngest son of Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, had sought refuge in Afghanistan following the crackdown in the Marri and Bugti areas after the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti last year.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/22/top3.htm

Anybody remember why so many forced to flee Pakistan last year?

For every action there is an exact and opposit reaction

[lovuian]

22. They Failed

and failing all over the world