Insurgent Activity Spikes in Afghanistan

(AP)  A new report released five years after Kabul's citizens celebrated the fall the fundamentalist Taliban regime paints a bleak picture of the rising insurgent violence that has claimed 3,700 lives across Afghanistan in 2006.

Militants launch more than 600 attacks a month, a fourfold increase from the monthly average of 130 last year, according to the report by the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board, a body with Afghan and international representatives, including from the United Nations. It was issued on the eve of Monday's anniversary of the Islamist militia's ouster.

The rising drug trade in Afghanistan has "significantly helped fuel" the insurgency in four volatile southern provinces, and the slow pace of development is contributing to popular disaffection and impeding efforts to curb the opium production, the report said.

The insurgency "threatens to reverse some of the gains made in the recent past, with development activities being especially hard hit in several areas, resulting in partial or total withdrawal of international agencies in a number of the worst-affected provinces," it said.

Five years ago, on Nov. 13, 2001, Taliban fighters retreated from Kabul ahead of an advancing Northern Alliance force, heralding the fall of its fundamentalist regime, and prompting street celebrations by Afghans who openly played music and shaved off the long beards that had been mandated by the hard-line regime.

A U.S.-led coalition began its invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 to oust the Taliban regime for hosting Osama bin Laden.

Afghanistan enjoyed a relative period of calm in the years after the invasion, but insurgents have this year launched a record number of roadside bombs and suicide attacks, and there have been heavy clashes all year between insurgents and Afghan and NATO security forces, particularly in the southern and eastern provinces near the border with Pakistan.

The 3,700 deaths the new report attributes to insurgent-related violence is comparable to the number of deaths — about 3,500 — tallied by The Associated Press this year based on reports from the U.S. military, NATO and Afghan officials.

In the latest violence, more than 20 Taliban militants — and possibly as many as 60 — were killed during clashes near the frontier in Paktika province, officials said Sunday.

Gen. Murad Ali, the deputy Afghan army commander for Paktika, said 20 bodies were recovered from fighting in Barmal district the last several days. In addition, he said, two trucks carrying Taliban fighters were destroyed by air strikes or artillery fire, and officials estimated 40 fighters were killed in those strikes.

Four NATO soldiers and three Afghan soldiers were injured, he said, though a NATO spokesman said he wasn't aware of any serious injuries among NATO troops. Barmal is home to a military base that hosts both Afghan and U.S. soldiers.

Spokesman Maj. Luke Knittig said the operations in Barmal were part of an ongoing Afghan-NATO mission to root out Taliban militants before winter settles in. He said the estimate of 60 dead fighters sounded "about right" but didn't have an independent estimate of the number killed. "We are not into the numbers game here lately," he said.

Death tolls in remote areas of Afghanistan are almost impossible to verify and often vary widely.

Abdul Baqi Nuristani, the provincial police chief, said only 25 militants have been killed in Barmal over the last couple of days. He said three Afghan and three NATO soldiers were injured in "a very big battle."

Ali said tribal elders took the bodies of eight Pakistani fighters back over the border to be buried.

Afghan officials have repeatedly accused Pakistan of not doing enough to prevent Pakistani or other foreign fighters from crossing the border to launch attacks. Pakistan says it does all it can, though border attacks have increased since a September agreement led the Pakistani military to pull out of its lawless tribal region.

[arthurcl1]

The 3,700 deaths the new report attributes to insurgent-related violence is comparable to the number of deaths %u2014 about 3,500 %u2014 tallied by The Associated Press this year based on reports from the U.S. military, NATO and Afghan officials. Another Bush Vietnam Mess were stuck in.

[steanlep55]

for afmca: You said "...we have to deter and/or kill as many when they try to cross the borders. Once you make it hard to reinforce and resupply, killing the ones that remain gets easier. Do this with Iraq along the Syria and Iran (there they are AGAIN) and much of the insurgency loses its supply of men and armaments."
According to both Iraqi government sources and US military sources in Iraq, foreigners account for approximately 7% of the forces fighting the coalition and Iraqi police. If border crossings were a significant problem, the US military would expend more of it's on hand resources to solve the problem.

[steanlep55]

No doubt this report is done with the intent of discrediting W and is clearly the work of the left wing media. What do they call it? The drive by media?
If it's based on reality, it must be those *** lefties.

[pakaal]

Oh hey, I remember this place! Wasn't Bin Laden hanging out here? The guy who killed 3,000 American civilians? The one Bush now says is "irrelevant"?

Yeah, it was great Afghanistan, thanks for having us over. Sorry we had to leave so soon but you know how it is, false stories of cake uranium, WMDs, a nuclear program and all that good stuff - we just had to go mess with Iraq for a while. Good luck with your future, we're too busy sinking in the Iraqi quicksand to help out right now.

[SCOTSDOC]

"The report said that the rising drug trade in Afghanistan is fueling the insurgency in four volatile southern provinces." OK but would it not be cheaper to BUY all the opium poppies and hemp at TOP market prices.Stop bombing start, buying(paper money no good, use gold coin). 'Farm gate' prices are dirt cheap! One cruise missile's cost would buy 1/2 the poppy crop in Helmand. One day's cost of the present 'war' would buy up the entire drug crop and put the runners and associated war lords out of business. The PEASANTS WOULD WELCOME,SAVE AND PROTECT our troops. Rebuilding would BOOM from the bottom up.

[ezeddie43]

I hope the money and troops being used in Iraq will be used in Afghanistan. That's the poorest nation, but the biggest source of heroin on the world stage. These drugs provide the taliban with a revenue source. The taliban provide security and allow transport, in the off season they attack our allies and troops.
If we can improve the Afghan's prospects and financial future without drugs.

[webdepot]

The Afghan/Pakistan border runs the middle of a mountain range that these people have used for hundreds of years in the smuggling of everything from soup to nuts..
Only pointing out it would be a very difficult border to seal.. but the thinking is correct.. no progress will be made in either Iraq or Afghanistan until the outside influence is stopped.

[afmca]

The key to Afghanistan (as to Iraq) is to first seal the borders. As long as the Taliban can come and go as they please across both the Pakistan and Iran borders these attacks will increase. Since it is not politically wise to chase after or perform pre-emptive attacks on their strongholds in those countries, we have to deter and/or kill as many when they try to cross the borders. Once you make it hard to reinforce and resupply, killing the ones that remain gets easier. Do this with Iraq along the Syria and Iran (there they are AGAIN) and much of the insurgency loses its supply of men and armaments.

[luvny-2009]

Bush might just as well have taken a 2x4 and smashed the biggest bee's nest he could find cause that's exactly what he has done over there. There are WAY more terrorists now that probably would not have been had Bush not done what he did. At least now others have a voice in TRYING to clean up his mess.