NY Times: Coalition Routs Taliban in Southern Afghanistan

[JudyInTheHeartland]

Coalition Routs Taliban in Southern Afghanistan

By CARLOTTA GALL

ARGHANDAB, Afghanistan — American and Afghan forces have been routing the Taliban in much of Kandahar Province in recent weeks, forcing many hardened fighters, faced with the buildup of American forces, to flee strongholds they have held for years, NATO commanders, local Afghan officials and residents of the region said.

A series of civilian and military operations around the strategic southern province, made possible after a force of 12,000 American and NATO troops reached full strength here in the late summer, has persuaded Afghan and Western officials that the Taliban will have a hard time returning to areas they had controlled in the province that was their base.

Some of the gains seem to have come from a new mobile rocket that has pinpoint accuracy — like a small cruise missile — and has been used against the hideouts of insurgent commanders around Kandahar. That has forced many of them to retreat across the border into Pakistan. Disruption of their supply lines has made it harder for them to stage retaliatory strikes or suicide bombings, at least for the moment, officials and residents said.

NATO commanders are careful not to overstate their successes — they acknowledge they made that mistake earlier in the year when they undertook a high-profile operation against Marja that did not produce lasting gains. But they say they are making “deliberate progress” and have seized the initiative from the insurgents.

Western and Afghan civilian officials are more outspoken, saying that heavy losses for the Taliban have sapped the momentum the insurgency had in the area. Unlike the Marja operation, they say, the one in Kandahar is a comprehensive civil and military effort that is changing the public mood as well as improving security.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/world/asia/21kandahar.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

[hobbit709]

1. As soon as the buildup of our troops leaves, they'll be back.

Same old, same old. We've seen this before. Once again the opposing forces pay more attention to Sun-Tzu than our military.

[Warren Stupidity]

2. Great! Declare Victory! Get The Fuck Out! nt!

[xchrom]

3. The fighters disappear for now.

Live to fight another day someplace else.

That's the problem with wars like this.

[Botany]

4. as post # 2 said ..... we have won the war time to go home

"Western and Afghan civilian officials are more outspoken, saying that heavy losses for the Taliban have sapped the momentum the insurgency had in the area ...."

just change a few words and you get a flash back to Vietnam


American and South Vietnamese officials are more outspoken, saying that heavy losses for the communists have sapped the momentum the Viet Cong had in the area

[asjr]

5. I'm to the point I do not believe anything

reported by the media about Afghanistan. One day we are having loads of trouble and now today we see we are doing well. There is no "win" to be had. We need to leave while we can. Just say "Mission Over" and get the hell out.

[DCBob]

6. That might explain this..

Senior administration officials briefed President Obama on Wednesday about the Afghan government's accelerating push for peace with the Taliban, as several streams of potential negotiations emerged. In addition to discussions in and around Kabul being facilitated by coalition forces, a Taliban delegation traveled to Saudi Arabia early this month to seek Saudi sponsorship of talks with the Afghan government, sources said. Taliban representatives also sought to hold a meeting near Kandahar, which is in the Taliban heartland of southern Afghanistan and close to the Pakistani city of Quetta, where the Afghan Taliban leadership is located.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/20/AR2010102006641.html

I sincerely hope we are moving towards an end to this mess. We cannot continue this war indefinitely.

[spanone]

7. nine years on....

[happyslug]

8. Could it be the PLANTING season that is the reason????

Afghanistan is a Winter Wheat area, you plant in the fall, the wheat comes up, then buried by Snow till Spring, when it starts to grow again. You harvest in the middle of Summer.

Thus it is PLANTING season in Afghanistan, everyone who is anyone in the Country heads for the fields and plant next year crop. All Fighting generally stops (No one wants to starve next year). Thus the Taliban are at their smallest active numbers in months. Furthermore, winter is coming and the harsh Afghan Winter forces most people to stay home till spring.

Reminds me of the stories of Load during the Vietnam war. During the wet season, the US would use its control of the Skies to move Laotian allied forces to take over huge areas of Laos from North Vietnam and its Laotian allies. Come the dry season, the North Vietnamese would re-take the area with its superior numbers in ground forces. The US Offensive was useless (The North Vietnamese offensive was NEVER to take the Laotian Capital, but to secure its supply line on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, thus the fight was over control of that road system NOT Laos itself).

Sorry, it is the planting season, and soon it will be winter, the real question is going to be next spring when the Taliban breaks out of its long winter nap.

Also this was discussed on October 7, 2010 but with a Times of India news article, this is nothing new, just someone trying to do a good spin in recent developments:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4568229#4568465

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. But..did they close the Ho-Chi-Minh Trail and find the Light at the end of the tunnel....again?

[happyslug]

10. The light is an on coming train....

And that train is the growing deficient everyone say they are afraid of. We are going broke fighting this war, the Military is going down hill rapidly (And with DADT now illegal, where is the US going to get its troops? Inner city African-Americans stop enlisting in large number by 2002, thus leaving Rural White as the main source of Recruits. Rural whites are the most opposed to DADT, so how is the military going to get such Rural Whites to enlist? There is NOT enough Gays to replace Rural whites (Even if EVERY gay in their 20s enlists). If Rural Whites stop enlisting in large numbers, this war is over do to a lack of troops.

P.S. People ask why is Obama appealing the Court ruling on DADT, this is why, the Pentagon is afraid that the number of rural whites who enlist will drop. If that occurs, Afghanistan has to be abandon. No one else is enlisting in the numbers near Rural Whites (Prior to 2002, African Americans either equaled or exceeded Rural Whites, but that has NOT been the case since about 2002). The Pentagon is afraid of a drop in troops strength and as long as that is a fear Obama will oppose any abandonment of DADT.

Please note the fear is enlistments NOT Officers or even NCOs (Through a fear that NCOs with 20 plus year will retire rather then stay in is another factor that is a concern of the Pentagon).