taliban Archives - Antiwar.com

Did Anyone Ever Bother to Get the Pakistani Perspective?

The U.S. targeting of Abu Yahya al-Libi, the number-two man in al-Qaeda, continues the American quest to kill its way out of its terrorist problem using pilotless drones, Special Forces raids, and other secret methods. Gen. David Petraeus, former commander of the U.S. military’s central command and author of its counterinsurgency manual, used to believe … Continue reading

Taliban Attacks Weaken US, NATO Position

Sunday’s well-orchestrated — if unsuccessful — attacks by Taliban forces on Kabul and three provincial capitals in eastern Afghanistan could further shake ebbing public confidence in the U.S. and its allies that their strategy for securing Afghanistan is working. Billed as the opening of the Taliban’s spring offensive, the attacks also raise new questions about … Continue reading

Light at End of Afghan Tunnel Recedes

“Now we can see [success in Vietnam] clearly, like the light at the end of a tunnel.” – Gen. Henri Navarre, commander French forces in Vietnam, May 20, 1953 “A new phase is starting … we have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view … there is a light at … Continue reading

Kabul Attack Continues Taliban Control of War Narrative

Gen. David Petraeus wrote in his 2006 counterinsurgency manual that the U.S. command headquarters should establish a “narrative” for the counterinsurgency war — a simple storyline that provides a framework for understanding events, both for the population of the country in question and for international audiences. But this week’s Taliban attacks on multiple targets in … Continue reading

Ex-PM Says Taliban Offer Talks For Pullout Date

KABUL – The Taliban leadership is ready to negotiate peace with the United States right now if Washington indicates its willingness to provide a timetable for complete withdrawal, according to a former Afghan prime minister who set up a secret meeting between a senior Taliban official and a U.S. general two years ago. They also … Continue reading

Execution Videos Strike Terror in Pakistan

PESHAWAR — A video showing a group of 16 Pakistani policemen, hands tied behind their backs, being executed by Taliban gunmen in the Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is only the latest in a series showing brutal acts designed to strike terror in the areas bordering Afghanistan. In the video, released on Monday, an unknown … Continue reading

Despite Troop Surge, Taliban Attacks and US Casualties Soared

Data on attacks by armed opposition forces and U.S. combat casualties since the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan was completed last summer provide clear evidence that the surge and the increase in targeted killings by Special Operations Forces have failed to break the momentum of the Taliban. The Taliban and allied insurgent organizations launched 54 … Continue reading

Afghan Resistance Triggers NATO Retreat

Almost a decade after the war in Afghanistan began, the endgame is now in sight. NATO will soon start its security handover to local forces, and the first U.S. troops will also leave as part of a gradual withdrawal plan that is due to be completed by the close of 2014. But despite claims from … Continue reading

90% of Petraeus’s Captured ‘Taliban’ Were Civilians

During his intensive initial round of media interviews as commander in Afghanistan in August 2010, Gen. David Petraeus released figures to the news media that claimed spectacular success for raids by Special Operations Forces: in a 90-day period from May through July, SOF units had captured 1,355 rank-and-file Taliban, killed another 1,031, and killed or … Continue reading

Slain Writer’s Book Says US-NATO War Served al-Qaeda Strategy

Al-Qaeda strategists have been assisting the Taliban fight against U.S.-NATO forces in Afghanistan because they believe that foreign occupation has been the biggest factor in generating Muslim support for uprisings against their governments, according to the just-published book by Syed Saleem Shahzad, the Pakistani journalist whose body was found in a canal outside Islamabad last … Continue reading