Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
June 28, 2008
Pg. 9
By Josh White, Washington Post Staff Writer
Violence in Afghanistan will continue to rise this year, as Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters have proved resilient and aggressive foes against coalition forces, according to a new Pentagon report issued to Congress yesterday.
Citing a weak Afghan government, struggling economy, massive increases in illegal narcotics production, corruption, growing attacks by insurgents and an increase in civilian casualties, U.S. defense officials said incremental progress in Afghanistan contrasts with significant challenges ahead. The 72-page report, which reviews the war from 2001 through April 10, 2008, offers a bleak assessment of a conflict that commanders think requires more resources and attention.
"Despite many positive developments, Afghanistan continues to face challenges," the report said. "The Taliban regrouped after its fall from power and have coalesced into a resilient insurgency. It now poses a challenge to the Afghan government's authority in some rural areas. . . . The Taliban is likely to maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008."
But the report makes clear that the Taliban is not the only concern for U.S. officials, and predicts the possibility of "two distinct insurgencies" emerging in Afghanistan this year, one dominated by the Taliban in the south and a "more complex, adaptive insurgency" in the east, where extremists affiliated with several groups have increased their efforts against U.S. troops and other coalition partners.
Both groups have been cooperating against coalition forces, defense officials told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday. The increase of U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year and the increased deployment of fledgling Afghan troops have led to battles with enemy fighters in areas where the insurgents had not been challenged before, officials said, leading insurgents to change tactics and, in some cases, become deadlier.
"The success of Afghan and international forces in military engagements has led insurgents to increase asymmetric attacks," the report said. "As such, [improvised explosive device] attacks are on the rise. IED incidents reached a high of 2,615 incidents in 2007, up from 1,931 in 2006."
A senior defense official said that such attacks increased more than 40 percent in the eastern part of the country during the first half of this year, compared with the first half of 2007.
Attacks in Afghanistan have shown a dramatic upturn in recent weeks, appearing to validate the findings in the report, the first of its kind regarding the country. The Pentagon is required by law to provide Congress with such an assessment every six months; the period covered by the next report ends in October.
Yesterday's assessment indicated that the greatest challenge to long-term security in Afghanistan is the insurgent sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal areas along the 1,500-mile-long border with Afghanistan. U.S. officials think that the tribal areas are fueling cross-border insurgent attacks and that Pakistan's cease-fire agreements with some groups in those areas are worsening security conditions.
The development of Afghanistan's security forces, particularly the Afghan police, has also faced serious challenges. Officials said the Afghan National Army is showing improvement, but only one of 85 Afghan army battalions is capable of operating independently, while 26 are capable of planning, executing and sustaining counterinsurgency operations with international support.
Narcotics, particularly illicit opium production, remain a major source of income for the Taliban, the report said. Afghanistan remains the leading producer of opium in the world, and Helmand province, where most attacks in Afghanistan occur, produces more than half of Afghanistan's opium crop.
June 28, 2008
Pg. 9
By Josh White, Washington Post Staff Writer
Violence in Afghanistan will continue to rise this year, as Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters have proved resilient and aggressive foes against coalition forces, according to a new Pentagon report issued to Congress yesterday.
Citing a weak Afghan government, struggling economy, massive increases in illegal narcotics production, corruption, growing attacks by insurgents and an increase in civilian casualties, U.S. defense officials said incremental progress in Afghanistan contrasts with significant challenges ahead. The 72-page report, which reviews the war from 2001 through April 10, 2008, offers a bleak assessment of a conflict that commanders think requires more resources and attention.
"Despite many positive developments, Afghanistan continues to face challenges," the report said. "The Taliban regrouped after its fall from power and have coalesced into a resilient insurgency. It now poses a challenge to the Afghan government's authority in some rural areas. . . . The Taliban is likely to maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008."
But the report makes clear that the Taliban is not the only concern for U.S. officials, and predicts the possibility of "two distinct insurgencies" emerging in Afghanistan this year, one dominated by the Taliban in the south and a "more complex, adaptive insurgency" in the east, where extremists affiliated with several groups have increased their efforts against U.S. troops and other coalition partners.
Both groups have been cooperating against coalition forces, defense officials told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday. The increase of U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year and the increased deployment of fledgling Afghan troops have led to battles with enemy fighters in areas where the insurgents had not been challenged before, officials said, leading insurgents to change tactics and, in some cases, become deadlier.
"The success of Afghan and international forces in military engagements has led insurgents to increase asymmetric attacks," the report said. "As such, [improvised explosive device] attacks are on the rise. IED incidents reached a high of 2,615 incidents in 2007, up from 1,931 in 2006."
A senior defense official said that such attacks increased more than 40 percent in the eastern part of the country during the first half of this year, compared with the first half of 2007.
Attacks in Afghanistan have shown a dramatic upturn in recent weeks, appearing to validate the findings in the report, the first of its kind regarding the country. The Pentagon is required by law to provide Congress with such an assessment every six months; the period covered by the next report ends in October.
Yesterday's assessment indicated that the greatest challenge to long-term security in Afghanistan is the insurgent sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal areas along the 1,500-mile-long border with Afghanistan. U.S. officials think that the tribal areas are fueling cross-border insurgent attacks and that Pakistan's cease-fire agreements with some groups in those areas are worsening security conditions.
The development of Afghanistan's security forces, particularly the Afghan police, has also faced serious challenges. Officials said the Afghan National Army is showing improvement, but only one of 85 Afghan army battalions is capable of operating independently, while 26 are capable of planning, executing and sustaining counterinsurgency operations with international support.
Narcotics, particularly illicit opium production, remain a major source of income for the Taliban, the report said. Afghanistan remains the leading producer of opium in the world, and Helmand province, where most attacks in Afghanistan occur, produces more than half of Afghanistan's opium crop.