[R-G] Taliban claim victory from a defeat

Sun May 4 23:48:32 MDT 2008

May 3, 2008
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JE03Df02.html	
Taliban claim victory from a defeat
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - The Taliban have suffered their first major loss in this  
year's offensive, but they are putting on a brave face, even spinning  
the setback as a triumph in their broader battle against foreign  
forces in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, several thousand US Marines captured the town of Garmsir  
in the southern Afghan province of Helmand in their first large  
operation since arriving to reinforce North Atlantic Treaty  
Organization (NATO) troops last month.

The Taliban-controlled Garmsir had served as a main supply route for  
their insurgency in the area.

The Taliban, however, claim the loss of one base is not critical, and  
anyway, for NATO to hold on to its gain it will have to commit

thousands of troops to the outpost, which is located in the  
inhospitable desert, if it is to effectively guard the lawless and  
porous border through which the Taliban funnel men, arms and supplies.

The Taliban also claim that one of their underlying goals since the US- 
led invasion in 2001 has been to tie down as many foreign troops as  
possible, much as the mujahideen wore down Soviet troops in the 1980s.  
Various Taliban leaders have told the media they will not resist the  
forces in Garmsir, one of the biggest concentrations since the 2001  
assault on the country.

Meanwhile, the Taliban say they will energize their drive to win over  
the Pashtun tribal districts on both sides of the border and turn them  
into "Taliban country", a process that is already well underway.

For NATO, the fight against the Taliban has almost gone full circle.  
 From the initial large offensive involving thousands of troops, NATO  
resorted to limited special operations with heavy reliance on air  
attacks. This only increased the population's anger against the  
coalition as many ordinary citizens died in the onslaught from the  
sky, and the Taliban were able to capitalize on this discontent.

NATO command has now decided to increase its ground presence, even at  
the risk of greater casualties. As mentioned above, this suits the  
Taliban and its al-Qaeda-inspired goal of tying up troops.

As NATO consolidates in the Garmsir deserts, the Taliban will be busy  
in eastern Afghanistan's border provinces, aiming to bring the tribes  
there under Taliban control.

One of their weapons is fear, as happens in the Pakistani tribal  
areas, where through targeted killings of high-profile enemies, such  
as tribal chiefs, clerics and pro-government personalities, they  
effectively intimidate their rivals.

Now it is happening in Afghanistan, the latest being the suicide  
attack, carried out by Anwar ul-Haq Mujahid's Tora Bora group, in the  
Khogiani district of Nangarhar province against the police chief of  
Khogiani, who had informed US forces in 2001 about the Tora Bora  
mountains and al-Qaeda's sanctuary there. The police chief survived,  
but at least 18 other people were killed.

The mastermind of this strategy is Ustad Yasir, a regional commander  
of the Pakistan and Afghan border regions, though he was recently  
rooted out from Khyber Agency in Pakistan after the Taliban were  
betrayed there. (See Taliban bitten by a snake in the grass Asia Times  
Online, April 26.)

Having "lost" Khyber Agency, where the Taliban had targeted NATO  
supply lines, they now want to continue this tactic in adjoining  
Nangarhar province.

The Taliban don't forget - or forgive - though. On Thursday, they  
launched a suicide attack in Khyber Agency against Haji Namdar, who  
betrayed them. Only one of the four explosive plates strapped to the  
bomber exploded, so Namdar managed to escape unhurt, although 30  
others were injured.

At the time of the attack, Namdar was appealing to the masses for  
donations for the Taliban's struggle in Afghanistan. But now he has  
been exposed as a traitor and in fact not pro-Taliban. This may allow  
the Taliban to make inroads into his large constituency, which is  
traditionally suspicious of the Taliban, who still very much want to  
regain a footing in Khyber Agency.

Taliban sources have also claimed the capture of an important US  
military camp in Khost province (close to the Pakistan border), but  
that could not be independently confirmed. The camp is said to have  
been taken by Jalaluddin Haqqani and handed over to al-Qaeda  
militants. If this is true, it would be a step in the Taliban's march  
to wrest control of Afghan tribes.

Meanwhile, the NATO soldiers guarding the Garmsir deserts, one of the  
world's hottest spots, with temperatures reaching 50-60 Celsius, face  
a tough time. The area is central to the country's flourishing opium  
trade.

On the Afghan side of the border, it is run by elements in the Afghan  
administration and security forces. (See The Taliban's flower power  
Asia Times Online, February 1, 2007.) Across the border, it is mainly  
run by Pakistani-Iranian Baloch smugglers.

The Taliban only allow the transportation of drugs and related  
activities for payment, which means the drug cartels will facilitate  
the insurgency, and make it even hotter for NATO.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He  
can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002 at yahoo.com