A new Taliban has re-emerged in Afghanistan

[barbaraann]

By Jonathan S. Landay, Knight Ridder Newspapers Thu Aug 18, 6:06 PM ET

KABUL, Afghanistan - Nearly four years after a U.S.-led military intervention toppled them from power, the Taliban has re-emerged as a potent threat to stability in Afghanistan.

Though it's a far cry from the mass movement that overran most of the country in the 1990s, today's Taliban is fighting a guerrilla war with new weapons, including portable anti-aircraft missiles, and equipment bought with cash sent through Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, according to Afghan and Western officials. While it was in power, the Taliban provided safe haven to bin Laden and al-Qaida.
...
The Taliban is now a disparate assemblage of radical groups estimated to number several thousand, far fewer than when it was in power before November 2001. The fighters operate in small cells that occasionally come together for specific missions. They're unable to hold territory or defeat coalition troops.
...
The Taliban's new tactics, however, suggest to some experts that the surge in violence that began five months ago is more than an effort to impede the elections. These experts fear that the Taliban's resurgence may be part of an al-Qaida strategy aimed at keeping the U.S. military stressed and bleeding not only in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan.
...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/krwashbureau/_bc_afghanistan_taliban_wa

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. "U.S. military stressed and bleeding"

US military will deny this until the day they cut and run.

[PurityOfEssence]

2. Shoveling smoke with a pitchfork in the wind

(That's a John Lennon quote.)

Nature abhors a vacuum, and that country just sucks. We're fighting a loose agglomeration of tribes and warlords, and many of the locals hate everything about us. What are we even trying to do there? Find Bin Laden? Rural pacification? Whittle down the manpower of irregulars? Show the flag? Secure the pipeline route?

Lest we forget, we helped create this mess in the 70s and 80s, and our cute little ex-UNOCAL flunky has his hands full just staying alive and trying to have a tiny little fiefdom.

[mikeiddy]

3. I'm shocked, just shocked (NT)

[Southpaw Bookworm]

4. Did the old Taliban ever go away?

From what I've read, I assumed that they might have laid low for a couple months, but then were back to their usual tricks.

[sui generis]

5. arm and train the women

Insist on female military service and combat training and give them weapons in the short term.

The Taliban may happen again, but this time it's the men who will end up wearing burkas.

[barb162]

8. Oh that would be lovely. Can you imagine some taliban asshole

male walking up to some woman to beat her up because she isn't covered head to toe, and she shoots him in the balls

[wli]

6. al Qaeda? Bushler's CIA assets being a "threat" is bunk.

[meganmonkey]

7. We better get over there and train them like we did the last ones!

Oh...wait...They're the bad guys now...:crazy:

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. This sound bad!

I guess we better invade Iran!

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

10. Military casualties in Afghanistan...

have been rising ever since the initial invasion and occupation. At the rate we're going this year, there will be DOUBLE the number of combat fatalities compared to 2004.

[Double T]

11. Mission Accomplished??

put another check mark in the bush failures column.