Among A Resurgent Taliban

CBS News Exclusive: Lara Logan Visits A Taliban Stronghold

(CBS)  Nearly five years after U.S. forces defeated the Taliban and scattered the al Qaeda terrorists they were protecting, the Taliban and their terror tactics are back.

This year in Afghanistan, roadside bombings are up 30 percent. Suicide bombings are up 100 percent and more than 100 U.S. and NATO troops have been killed. In response, the allies have launched a counter-offensive against the Taliban, killing as many as 60 on Tuesday alone.

CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan obtained unprecedented access to Taliban fighters in one of their new strongholds in Ghazni province. Here is her exclusive report:

Our tense journey into Taliban territory followed six months of negotiations with their commanders. Their nervous liaison insisted I cover everything but my eyes.

As we got closer, these two armed Taliban fighters arrived to "escort" us along the dirt roads through several villages. We were in Ghazni, just two hours south of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

We couldn't film openly, and for the last part of the journey, we were ordered to walk until we finally came upon more than 100 Taliban fighters — America's enemy — brazenly flaunting their weapons in broad daylight.

Men of all ages, many trained over the border inside Pakistan, out of reach of U.S. forces, where the Taliban has been able to reorganize and rearm.

Their senior commander defiantly declared them stronger and more popular than they were before the U.S. invasion. That's a far cry from what I found last time I came to Ghazni.

The U.S. military brought me here more than two years ago to show off how they'd driven the Taliban out. Now the Taliban were showing off their success in taking back some of that ground.

"Before this war American forces were our friends," Ahmad Rahim, the Taliban regional commander, told Logan. "But now, after this occupation and their barbaric cruelty, we are no longer with them."

To get out of Taliban-controlled areas, you have to travel on roads they have mined, so we were given an escort to navigate around the deadly bombs.

Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, admits Ghazni is one of the worst spots in a Taliban resurgence that's made this past year the bloodiest ever for U.S. forces.

"You do have areas of Afghanistan right now, in particular provinces in the south, and in certain districts where Taliban is greater than it was last year," Eikenberry said. "It's a hard enemy that we're up against, an enemy that doesn't know borders."

American officials point to other areas where security is much improved, and play down the fight raging daily in the South. There, NATO took over from U.S. forces in August and lost nine soldiers in their first week. Their commanding general said the situation is much worse than expected.

"There is no doubt people are frustrated and the Taliban are exploiting that sense of frustration," said Lt. Gen. David Richards. "I think the next three to six months are critical."

As long as the Taliban are able to wage war inside Afghanistan, American success will not be assured. Today, they're more confident than ever. On our visit, in a scene unimaginable just two years ago, armed Taliban fighters gathered openly for prayer, weapons at the ready, less than 10 miles from a U.S. base.

[txbrowser]

"U.S. artillery and airstrikes killed between 50 and 60 suspected Taliban militants Tuesday, the fourth day of a NATO-led offensive in southern Afghanistan, an alliance spokesman said. NATO already has reported more than 200 Taliban killed in the operation." -- Washington Post, 9 hours ago.

So much for CBS news regaining credibility with me. Couric didn't even mention this. She gave the impression the Taliban operates with impunity.

[mrllmc]

^^^^^You folks just hate the truth, don't ya?

[mrllmc]

Bush's war in Iraq, the end, will end up isolating the US as more and more radical Islamic believers will see us an extreme radical country. Because GSW went into this as a "Cowboy" rather than working with Allies, we are going to endure hardships for many years to come.

"Thanks for all the lies, Bush!"

[clestes-2009]

I guess the 50 or 60 suspected Taliban soldiers killed doesn't merit much attention when 200 or 300 civilians a day are dying.

The point is this. We had Afganistan under control, Osama *** near captured and what did Bush do??? Snatch defeat out of the mouth of victory.