Posted on 08/30/2015 12:12:11 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Soldiers who were part of NATO’s Resolute Support non-combat mission were quickly dispatched to advise Afghan special forces bolstering local efforts.
Col. Brian Tribus, an American military spokesman, also confirmed U.S. forces had carried out 18 airstrikes in the Musa Qala district since 22 August.
Mr Mirza Khan Rahimi, governor of Helmand, played down the impact of the US airstrikes to the Telegraph, saying that Afghan forces would have been sufficient on their own to wrest back control of Musa Qala.
Mr Rahimi claimed that up to 300 Taliban fighters had been killed or wounded in the operation. At least 33 Afghan security forces were killed or injured.
A clearing operation to rid the district of Taliban was still underway.
Musa Qala’s fall was a major propaganda coup for the Taliban. In an audio statement released shortly after its capture, the Taliban emphasised that British troops had once ploughed significant resources into protecting the small town.
The fight for Musa Qala is just one of many struggles for territory currently being played out across Afghanistan, as local security forces struggle to maintain control in the wake of the international military withdrawal.
Major battles between Afghanistan security forces and other insurgent groups are ongoing in at least 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
The current government consists of the Northern Alliance plus some anti-Taliban Pashtun. The alliance held out for close to a decade against the Taliban, which was funded and supplied by Pakistan. Given that we can spend way more money than the Pakistanis (a few billion a year vs tens or hundreds of millions), I doubt the Afghan government will fall anytime soon. Assuming we keep paying the bills.
We should deduct Pakistan support for 5 times the amount they give the enemy.
The same Northern Alliance whose leader was blown up by a fake camera right before 9/11? They still around?
It’s time for the U.S & NATO forces to launch attacks against the Taliban and go on the offense.
He was in good company. Benazir Bhutto and a host of Pakistani luminaries were assassinated by the Taliban. Heck - JFK was assassinated by a lone gunman, and Hinckley almost took Reagan out.
The bottom line is that Northern Alliance leaders spent a good chunk of their careers fighting for or against the Soviets, and then against the Taliban. They have hands-on experience in fighting a protracted low-intensity war.
Afghans have been fighting wars of varying intensity more or less continuously at least since Alexander.
Oh, and if you haven’t read Churchill’s The Story of the Malakand Field Force, I strongly recommend it. What is now Pakistan, not Afghanistan, but close enough. It and his The River War should have been required reading in the wake 9/11 for everyone in the U.S. Foreign Service dealing with the Middle East, the entire officer corp of the Army and Marines, and all of the general staff.
That's equally true of every other region on earth up until (ironically) the Cold War began - civil and international conflicts were interrupted mainly by pauses to regroup and recover. What really sharpened the skills of the various Afghan militias were the conflicts with big powers. During the initial Soviet incursion, the mujahideen were picked off like flies. Then they adapted, with billions in arms and supplies from the US, China and so on.
Don’t forget Saudi Arabia. Read Charlie Wilson’s War for a little on that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.