Taliban Fighters Increase Attacks

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON, July 31 — Attacks against American troops in Afghanistan and Afghan security forces and civilians have increased steadily in the past several months, posing new hurdles for reconstruction and political stability efforts, American commanders and Afghan officials say.

Fighting has intensified, particularly in the east along the rugged, 1,500-mile border with Pakistan and in the south near Kandahar. Twenty-three American troops have died from ambushes, land mines and other hostile fire this year, compared with 12 combat deaths in all of 2003, according to military statistics. An increasingly popular weapon may have been inspired by insurgents in Iraq: remote-controlled bombs.

The Taliban have stepped up recruiting in the south and intensified strikes against newly trained Afghan soldiers and police officers, as well as foreign-aid workers. This week, the international aid agency Doctors Without Borders said it was withdrawing from Afghanistan after 24 years, in part because of the deteriorating security there.
...
American commanders nonetheless paint an optimistic picture, saying the increased attacks are a sign of the Taliban's desperation. The United States has doubled the number of troops in Afghanistan in the last year, to about 20,000 troops at its peak recently, and expanded their presence throughout the country. Commanders say a new counterinsurgency strategy adopted late last year has paid dividends, by providing security for fledgling reconstruction projects and enabling soldiers to gather fresh intelligence to use in their attacks against militants.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/international/asia/01AFGH.html

[BillZBubb]

1. Here we go again!

They are attacking more because they are desperate! Right, I buy that. Once again we see why military intelligence is an oxymoron.

[BrotherBuzz]

2. Doctors Without Borders,

with no political agenda, is a beter indicator of what is happening in Afghanistan than some American commander spouting the crap "the increased attacks are a sign of the Taliban's desperation."

Meanwhile, Joe Six-pac truly thinks we won that damn war.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Aw come on! The Taliban was defeated 2 years ago!

"The United States has doubled the number of troops in Afghanistan in the last year, to about 20,000 troops at its peak recently" I'll bet it's more than 20,000. This has kind of become "the invisible war" like Cambodia, except that the dumbshits made this one legal.

[NMDemDist2]

4. double the deaths of GI's and then add in Iraq

the bushco is a criminal bunch of @ssholes


:argh:

[rfkrocks]

5. But But we are safer said Shrub

Now facing the 2 headed hydra-thinking that the impossible will happen-2 terrorist states-Afghanistan and now Iraq-only a Bush could make the problem 2x times worse than it was before-but the media likes him-"he is aggressive and a leader"