With the withdrawal of British troops from the Sangrin area of Helmand in Afghanistan, it is instructive to compare accounts. The Guardian had a piece by Michael Williams that put forth the view that British deployment there has resulted in the Taliban almost being defeated entirely.
Sangin should have been the easiest place in all of Afghanistan for the Taliban to hold. It is extremely isolated and its people are incredibly impoverished, poorly educated and dependent on the narcotics industry. They have historically fiercely opposed any foreign presence (including Afghans from other parts of the country). Instead, thanks largely to the efforts of British troops, it is very much in play – if the Afghan government wants to look after it.Yet compare this to two other sources which said something rather different, only a month ago.
Afghanistan: In Search of the True Civilian Toll
Monday 09 August 2010
...as soon we entered Sangin district, I could feel that we had entered Taliban territory.
We were stopped frequently by the Taliban. I was expecting to be killed at any moment, but they just looked at our car and let us go.
When we got to the district center of Sangin, I saw Afghan Army bases. . . but just a kilometer outside the center we were once again in Taliban country. . .on one side you can see the black, red and green of the Afghan national flag, while just 300 meters away the white Taliban banner waves.
About three kilometers outside of Sangin district center I began to see NATO bases. We passed them, and entered Sarwan Kala, which is controlled by the Taliban.
“I am going with you!” said one of the villagers.
Abdul Karim took the wheel and seemed very competent. There were Taliban checkpoints every 100 meters or so, but he managed to talk us through them easily.
Finally we got to Rigi. The first thing we saw was a cemetery, called Faqir Baba. Residents told me they had buried 24 bodies from the strike there.
We found the compound that was hit. There was a gathering in front of it.
The compound was almost completely destroyed.
Mohammad Khan, a 15-year-old boy, told me the story.
"The Taliban attacked the American and Afghan forces and a short fight broke out between them. The people of Joshali decided to evacuate the village, so we came here to Rigi - women, children, old and young, all of us.
“They put the women and children in one big compound and the men stayed outside. It was around three in the afternoon that we saw helicopters in the air. The men fired on the helicopters from the ground with AK-47s. I ran towards the compound and told the children to go inside. Some obeyed me and some just stayed outside to see what was happening. Suddenly I heard a big boom and I was knocked down. There was dust everywhere. I could not hear anything. When the dust settled, I ran towards the compound. I saw human bodies scattered everywhere. I started looking for my mother, and finally found her, covered with blood and dust. I pulled her out of the ruins. I found three of my little brothers too, near my mother. They were all dead.”
Afghanistan Will Only Get Worse
September 14, 2010 ( New York Times )
the Western coalition is in a quagmire in the south and the Taliban are winning in the north, consolidating their grip in the east, and slowly encircling Kabul.
Having concentrated the bulk of its forces in the south, the coalition is not able to contain the Taliban in other parts of the country.
When I was traveling across Afghanistan in the spring, the Taliban’s momentum was already clear. And safety conditions continue to deteriorate. This summer, when I returned only a few months later, the situation was even worse.
The Taliban’s control of the south is apparent in the inability of U.S. troops to extend any control beyond their bases.
In the districts where the fighting is most intense, the population is primarily on the side of the insurgents.
80 percent of Afghanistan has no state structure left. This means that there is no credible Afghan partner for the United States to work with. And where the government has lost its grip and the American-led coalition is losing, the Taliban are filling the void.
A telling example is that international nongovernmental organizations are increasingly working directly with the Taliban. The NGOs negotiate directly with Taliban leaders to ensure access to the Afghan people and carry out their programs.
The coalition will not defeat this increasingly national insurgency.
No comments:
Post a Comment