"The Taliban are reported to be enjoying growing support among the population, which is exhausted by nine years of war and increasingly opposed to the foreign troop presence in their country.
“Many people now perceive ISAF as an occupying force,’’ said Anne Jones, a humanitarian activist and author who has lived in Afghanistan. “[They] are no longer part of the solution, they have become the problem.’’
Then why are we staying?
Short answer: To guard oil pipelines and drug profits.
"Taliban numbers unaffected by allied troop surge; Officials say estimates belie progress made" by Slobodan Lekic, Associated Press / January 7, 2011
BRUSSELS — The Taliban are pitted against about 140,000 troops — two-thirds of them Americans — and more than 200,000 members of the government’s security forces.
This gives the allies a numerical advantage of at least 12 to 1 — one of the highest such ratios in modern guerrilla wars. At the height of the Vietnam War, the United States and its allies had an advantage of roughly 5 to 1 over their Communist foes....
Related: Boston Globe Censorship: Troops Outnumber Taliban
Then how can we be losing so badly?
That number will rise further as more than 1,000 Marines will be sent to Afghanistan this month to try to solidify progress....
If this is progress I would hate to see what failure looks like.
Officials at the Florida-based US Central Command said the Marines were being sent to take advantage of what is traditionally a winter hiatus for the Taliban and to try to set conditions for the fighting season that begins in the spring.
Despite the Taliban’s ability to make up for battlefield losses, US and NATO commanders say hundreds of Taliban have been killed....
Either we are being given body count lies, or....
Related: Taliban I Told You So
Yeah, they are the PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE! That's what I thought!
Meanwhile, the training of a 300,000-strong government security force is said to be going according to plan....
See: Afghanistan's Invisible Army
Sick of the lies yet?
Related:
"An Afghan security contractor convicted in a Marine’s fatal shooting was a frequent drug user who may have smoked opium or hashish hours before the killing in one of Afghanistan’s top opium-producing regions, a US military investigation suggests."
Yeah, things are going great.
Military analysts generally agree that international troops have seized the initiative in the war.
Peter Mansoor, a retired Army colonel and professor of military history at Ohio State University, said the unchanged number of insurgents did not reflect the reality on the ground, as the Taliban had sustained heavy blows over the past year.
“We have taken hundreds of their leaders off the battlefields,’’ he said by phone....
And we are still losing?
But other analysts caution that the gains could be reversed because the Taliban have simply retreated in the face of superior forces. Employing guerrilla tactics, they melted away into other areas, spreading the rebellion into new parts of the country.
Jovo Kapicic, a retired Montenegrin general who fought in the first modern guerrilla war in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II said it was never a problem for insurgents to make up losses in manpower despite massive losses.
“Guerrillas who enjoy the support of the population can always bounce back,’’ he added.
The Taliban are reported to be enjoying growing support among the population, which is exhausted by nine years of war and increasingly opposed to the foreign troop presence in their country.
“Many people now perceive ISAF as an occupying force,’’ said Anne Jones, a humanitarian activist and author who has lived in Afghanistan. “[They] are no longer part of the solution, they have become the problem.’’
--more--"
So what does progress look like?
"Afghan tribe rejoins fight against Taliban; Deal could shorten war in violent area; District is vital for insurgents" by Patrick Quinn, Associated Press / January 4, 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan — The cooperation of the tribal leaders in the effort to rid the area of insurgents could help shorten the war....
Then we are not making progress at all.
With the nearly decade-old war growing increasing unpopular in the United States and in many NATO capitals, success on the battlefield is an important part of President Obama’s plan....
It is hated!
And that is the reason we are treated to bulls*** reports in the newspaper, Americans!
The war is also very costly at a time when the United States is slowly starting to emerge from recession. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the United States spent an average of $5.4 billion a month in Afghanistan in the budget year that ended in September, and the total cost since the war began stands at $336 billion....
I hope it has ALL BEEN WORTH IT, America!
Sangin is a strategic region for the Taliban and one they do not want to lose. It is a key crossroads to funnel drugs, weapons, and fighters throughout Helmand and into neighboring Kandahar province, the spiritual heartland of the Taliban. It is also one of the last remaining sanctuaries in Helmand where the Taliban can freely process the opium and heroin that largely fund the insurgency....
That's another lie I am tired of reading.
--more--"
See: WHAT OUR CHILDREN ARE DYING FOR IN AFGHANISTAN
At least we rebuilt the place, right?
"US-built projects crumbling " by Washington Post / January 4, 2011
WASHINGTON — Roads, canals and schools built in Afghanistan as part of a special US military program are crumbling under Afghan stewardship, despite new steps imposed over the past year to ensure reconstruction money is not being wasted, according to government reports and interviews with military and civilian personnel.
I guess we will just have to stay, huh?
Related:
“I think that in the next days, the government of Afghanistan’s response to anticorruption efforts are a key test of its ability to regain the confidence of the.... American people [who] are prepared to support with hard-earned tax dollars and with most importantly, with the treasure of our country — the lives of young American men and women.... and say, ‘Hey, that’s something worth dying for.’ ’’
Is it worth it, America?
US troops in Afghanistan have spent $2 billion in the past six years on 16,000 humanitarian projects through the Commander’s Emergency Response Program which gives a battalion-level commander the power to treat aid dollars as ammunition.
Related: US forced to import bullets from Israel as troops use 250,000 for every rebel killed
A report slated for release this month reveals how quickly such projects can slide into neglect after being transferred to Afghan control....
Yup, we CAN'T LEAVE!
Dilapidated projects could present a challenge to the US strategy of shifting more responsibility to Afghans. Investing in infrastructure, notes President Obama’s December review of the war, “will give the Afghan government and people the tools to build and sustain a future of stability.’’
“Sustainment is one of the biggest issues with our whole strategy,’’ said a civilian official who shared details from a draft of the report. “The Afghans don’t have the money or capacity to sustain much.’’
And what makes you think the bankrupt and occupying empire does?
Photos in the report show washed-out roads, with gashes and potholes where improvised explosive devices can be hidden.
For a washed-out war.
Among the projects profiled is a redredged canal that filled with silt a month after opening. The official requested anonymity because the Defense Department is preparing a response to the audit.
--more--"
"US inspector general for Afghanistan quits" by Associated Press / January 11, 2011
Think the last report had something to do with it?
WASHINGTON — Also yesterday, NATO’s top commander in Afghanistan said a recent pledge by a southern Afghan tribe to stand up to the Taliban shows the military push in the country’s most violent region is making headway and stifling the insurgents’ “central nervous system.’’
General David Petraeus said a shift in thinking by the Afghanistan government and NATO means that the tribe’s risky move is being embraced rather than ignored....
Later yesterday, Petraeus was in Kabul to greet Vice President Joe Biden, who made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to assess progress....
In a separate development, Mitt Romney met yesterday with Karzai in Afghanistan, as part of a weeklong overseas trip that could bolster the former Massachusetts governor’s foreign policy credentials.
Romney, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, is visiting Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.
Who gives a s*** about Romney's trip?
--more--"
"Afghanistan forms tribunal to review election complaints; Karzai signs off on proposal by Supreme Court" by Rahim Faiez, Associated Press / December 28, 2010
Also yesterday, a suicide car bombing in the southern Taliban stronghold of Kandahar killed three people and wounded 26 others, mostly police, officials said. The attack highlighted the instability in Afghanistan as the NATO-led fight against insurgents there approaches the start of its 10th year....
More progress I see.
--more--"
"Coalition patrol fights off attack by Afghan militants" by Elena Becatoros, Associated Press / December 29, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — A coalition patrol fought off an insurgent attack in mountainous eastern Afghanistan yesterday, on a day when two servicemen were killed in the country’s troubled south....
This year is by far the deadliest for the coalition in the nearly decade-long war....
NATO and the United States say progress has been made....
Can governments be mentally ill because this pathological lying about progress is a sure sign?
Security has also deteriorated in the north, while many parts of eastern Afghanistan, along the border with Pakistan, remain violent and under militant control. NATO forces often engage in heavy fighting there....
Progress.
This year has been by far the deadliest of the nearly decade-long war. Previously, the worst year of war in terms of coalition deaths was 2009....
Progress -- as the war gets worse!
It is civilians who have often borne the brunt of the war....
They ALWAYS DO!
--more--"
"Once relatively peaceful, security in northern Afghanistan has deteriorated....
Progress.
--more--"
More progress:
"A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up among men washing in a bathhouse ahead of Friday prayers, killing 17, in an attack in Kandahar Province that showed militants can still largely strike at will in southern Afghanistan despite a NATO offensive.
Roadside bombs also killed three NATO troops in the south and east, while gunmen killed a police inspector in Kandahar’s provincial capital, bringing the day’s death toll to 21. Authorities said they suspect the Taliban assassinated the police inspector.
The day’s violence underscored the dangers in southern Afghanistan."
"Afghans protest cleric’s arrest in raid" by Associated Press / January 10, 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan — Hundreds gathered in a mosque in northern Afghanistan yesterday, demanding NATO forces release an influential cleric arrested in a raid that touched a raw nerve among Afghans who said they were shut out of the operation.
Opening a potential trouble spot for the coalition, three civilians, including a child, were killed Saturday in the crossfire as militants battled NATO forces, according to officials in Helmand Province, a Taliban stronghold.
We call it liberation.
Separately, NATO said a service member was killed in a bomb blast — the 11th killed this year....
Who cares about NATO casualties anymore?
Besides, it's PROGRESS!
--more--"
"Afghans say 2 attacks were thwarted" by Associated Press / January 6, 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan —Identified as members of the Haqqani network, an Al Qaeda-linked militant group based in neighboring Pakistan....
Who?
"Haqqani.... credited with introducing suicide bombing to the region.... cultivated as a "unilateral" asset of the CIA and received tens of thousands of dollars in cash for his work.... He may have had a role in expediting the escape of Osama Bin Laden.... In July 2008, CIA officials confronted Pakistan officials with evidence of ties between Inter-Services Intelligence and Haqqani. Haqqani has been accused of involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul.... The Haqqani Network is based in Pakistan and is believed to have links to Al Qaeda."
Yeah, okay.
Separately, NATO said three of its service members were killed....
More than 150,000 NATO forces have been struggling to quell an insurgency.
I was told progress with everything going according to plan.
NATO has focused its efforts on the south, but the Taliban have expanded their operations into areas of Afghanistan once considered safe.
Progress.
--more--"
"Report cites disruption of militants" by Eric Schmitt, New York Times / December 27, 2010
WASHINGTON —US and other intelligence officials said Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, shields the so-called Haqqani network. A sixfold increase in the number of special operations raids in the past year against insurgents, including the Haqqanis, has disrupted the militants’ operations.
Progress.
--more--"
Related: Feeling heat, militant groups cooperating on Afghan border (By Thom Shanker, New York Times)
The piece never made my printed paper and I no longer read NYT propaganda on the web, sorry.
"NATO service member killed in Afghanistan" by Associated Press / January 3, 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan — The NATO fatalities opened 2011 on a grim note for the international coalition....
NATO officials say they are making significant progress in the war, but note that the gains are reversible.
I have about had enough.
Insurgents are using Pakistan as a base for some of their operations, and the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai is seen by many Afghans and international observers as so far unable to offer key services to a population struggling for a sense of normalcy after years of war.
Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, a leading Republican on military policy, said that he wants American officials to consider establishing permanent military bases in Afghanistan. Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press’’ yesterday that having air bases there would benefit the region and give Afghan forces an edge against the Taliban.
Translation: We are NEVER LEAVING, Americans!
Start preparing that gravestone for the death of your empire.
We can put it right next to the British and Soviet stones.
--more--"
Update: “We are not leaving in 2014.’’
I never thought we were.
