Taliban announce 'countersurge' in Afghanistan

[Guest guest]

They do indeed.

NATO forces have at least 70 different Rules of Engagement they have to follow. The Taliban have none. This results in stories about A known Taleban or Al Qeada leader and his men running away from NATO forces. However, because the bad guys don't shoot at the NATO guys, the NATO guys can't shoot them or even call airstrikes on them to make them stop. Happened in Vietnam too. A story from there was that a .50 caliber gunner on a vehicle saw about a dozen men running across a rice paddy during a battle but wasn't allowed to shoot them. Turned out that was the command group for a local NVA battalion. had they been killed, the NVA unit would have fallen apart, but instead they were skillfully guided and many Americans died in that action alone, not counting later because the NVA pulled away and fought again another day.

Many NATO forces have also pulled out and many others limit themselves to base defense or logistical duties only. Some Special Operations units have pulled out because of the Rules of Engagement and also because of slanderous stories printed about them in home media.

Anyway, they could hurt us and hurt us bad. We've lost a lot of political capital now and our new President is more a laughingstock amongst world leaders rather than respected. I fully believe the terrorists are going to try hard to kick in our teeth, which will cause greater political disruption at home. Between the economy and the cultural assault being lead by the current president and his cronies, tensions will only get higher in the US. A few terror attacks, particularly some on our shores and things could get very nasty very fast.

In a message dated 5/2/2009 6:43:54 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

The Guardian reports that the insurgents have the potential to make good on their promise. A western security official said the statement should be taken seriously as the Taliban have previously lived up to their often bold statements of intent, including their past promises to attack roads and encircle Kabul. Check all of your email inboxes from anywhere on the web. Try the new Email Toolbar now!

[Guest guest]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0430/p99s01-duts.html

Taliban announce 'countersurge' in Afghanistan

The militants have vowed to launch a new offensive against US and its allies,

which are preparing to increase troop levels.

By Anand Gopal

posted April 30, 2009 at 8:37 am EST

The Taliban have vowed to launch a new offensive this summer in Afghanistan

against the government and the foreign soldiers stationed there. The news comes

as the United States and its allies plan to increase their troop presence to

counter the growing Taliban threat.

A wave of suicide attacks and ambushes will start Thursday, according to the

Taliban website, al Emerah.

Since America and NATO have resolved to send extra troops to Afghanistan,

therefore, the Afghans too in response feel the need to start rapid and strong

operations, as part of their struggle, to defend themselves and to free the

country…

The targets of these operations will be the military units of the invading

forces, diplomatic centers, mobile convoys, high-ranking officials of the puppet

administration.

The Guardian reports that the insurgents have the potential to make good on

their promise.

A western security official said the statement should be taken seriously as the

Taliban have previously lived up to their often bold statements of intent,

including their past promises to attack roads and encircle Kabul.

" They said they would launch operations in the north of Afghanistan this year

and that's exactly what they have done, " he said.

" There is no doubt that they can counter-surge if they want to – if they choose

to consolidate themselves in Pakistan. "

Fighting has been intense across the country. The US claims to have killed up to

42 insurgents in various battles on Wednesday. Meanwhile, nine German soldiers

were injured and one killed in a pair of attacks on Wednesday in the north of

the country. Earlier this week a British soldier was killed in an explosion. The

website iCasualties.org, which tracks troop fatalities, reports that 90 foreign

soldiers have been killed so far this year, a 67 percent increase from the same

period last year.

The US government and independent analysts said Thursday that violence has risen

in the past year and the insurgents have consolidated and expanded their

operations, according to the Associated Press. A new State Department study

found that the number of insurgent attacks has increased. In addition, the

American Security Project, Washington-based think tank, reported on Wednesday

that the Taliban is gaining ground in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

" Governmental weakness in both states has created opportunities for radical

Islamist groups on both sides of the border, " the independent analysts

concluded.

" Terrorist attacks are up, but worse, territory controlled by the Afghan and

Pakistani Taliban has also increased, " said the American Security Project…

The American Security Project attributes the rise in incidents to the spread of

the Taliban, which it said has a " persistent presence " in about 75 percent of

the Afghanistan. In Pakistan, it noted that the government increasingly has

ceded authority to militants in tribal areas, even before turning over the Swat

Valley to the Taliban earlier this month.

Western nations are pouring more troops into the beleaguered country in hopes of

stemming this violent tide. In addition to the more than 20,000 soldiers that

the US has earmarked for Afghanistan, Australia and Britain are also pledging

troop increases, The Afghan news website Quqnoos reports:

[The] British Prime Minister [said an] extra 700 troops will be sent to

Afghanistan mainly to help provide security during upcoming elections.

Deployment of the new British contingent will [raise the number of] troops to

9,000 stationed in Afghanistan, mostly in Helmand, the stronghold of the Taliban

militants.

" For Afghanistan, our strategy is to ensure the country is strong enough as a

democracy to withstand and overcome the terrorist threat, " Brown said.

In addition, Australia has pledged to send an additional 450 troops. The force

increases this year will bring the total number of foreign forces in Afghanistan

to more than 90,000.

President Obama is also planning to ask Congress for an additional $83 billion

in funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, CNN reports.

The request is expected to pay for those conflicts for the rest of the 2009

budget year, two Democratic congressional sources said.

The money would bring the running tab for both conflicts to about $947 billion,

according to figures from the Congressional Research Service.

More than three-quarters of the $864 billion appropriated so far has gone to the

war in Iraq, the agency estimated.