Word: talibans
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...Speaking in Pakistan on Jan. 22, Defense Secretary Robert Gates described the Taliban as part of Afghanistan's "political fabric," dispelling any notion that the movement - no matter how noxious - can be eliminated by force of arms. And General Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander on the ground, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday that "a political solution ... is the inevitable outcome" and "the right outcome" of the surge of 30,000 new U.S. troops into Afghanistan this year. "As a soldier," McChrystal said, "my personal feeling is that there's been enough fighting. What I think...
America went to war in 2001 to rid Afghanistan not only of al-Qaeda but also of an extremist Taliban regime that viciously abused its own people. But as the international community prepares to gather in London on Thursday to plot an endgame for the eight-year conflict, it is becoming increasingly clear that the war will end with the Taliban being restored to some measure of power. Indeed, the strategic purpose of President Obama's troop surge now appears primarily to be setting the table for an acceptable compromise with the Taliban...
...Centcom commander General David Petraeus weighed in on the question of a political settlement in the Times of London on Monday, warning that before a political resolution could be achieved, there would be some intense fighting to roll back the Taliban and disabuse them of the prospect of a battlefield victory. And Gates has made clear that the movement's leadership is unlikely to negotiate a compromise until it has been dealt some heavy blows on the battlefield. Still, Petraeus suggested, current outreach efforts that are limited to those Taliban willing to lay down their arms and accept the Afghan...
...crowd, killing eight. The Americans were blamed - just a few hours after the event, many residents claimed to have seen U.S. soldiers alongside the NDS officers who fired on the crowd. The U.S. military says none of its personnel were present at the scene. Most likely, the local Taliban shadow governor promulgated the rumors of a desecrated Koran. Still, that incident as well as the Jalalabad one underscore the U.S.'s failure to understand the local environment, much of it attributable to a self-centered approach to gathering and disseminating intelligence throughout the Afghan theater. A new report titled "Fixing...
...troop levels this year could have violent consequences. Just days ago, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, gave an interview with ABC News in which he praised the progress that an earlier troop surge has made in securing Helmand province and taking momentum away from the Taliban. U.S. military officials have noted in the past, however, that dramatic attacks will still occur in the country despite the extra troops on the ground. Monday's commando raid seemed to prove the point. For a few hours, insecurity reigned and a bit of the government's hard-won progress slipped...