Taliban's Focus On Afghan Front.

In a report on July 12, ATO noted that the Taliban's three-month-old offensive in Afghanistan was the biggest ever mounted against foreign forces in the country since the group's ouster in late 2001, and it had taken a heavy toll on both the insurgency and the NATO forces.

ATO quoted one of Taliban's ten commanders, "Mullah Gul Mohammed Jangvi" (the last name meaning warrior) as saying: "We have had some initial successes, which boosted our morale. Tarood, Sangeen and Musa Qila districts in Helmand province are our recent victories. We have set a few priorities, top-most of which is to fight only with foreign forces and avoid fighting Afghans. However, there are Afghans who are top of our [hit] list, like Gul Afghan Sherzai [governor of Nangarhar province], [President] Hamid Karzai and the members of parliament".

Jangvi dismissed a question that the Taliban were on the back foot as they were frequently changing tactics, saying: "In the past few weeks we narrowed down our targets and we are aiming to hit those targets which give us optimum results. In the recent past we tried to attack Kandahar airport and US military bases. This is aimed at rooting out American air power in these stations so that they would not be able to shield their ground troops in a short span of time. In the coming days you will see more and more attacks on airfields, and once air cover vanishes from over the heads of coalition troops, they will be trapped everywhere like sitting ducks".

Despite Jangvi's optimism, though, the fact is that the Taliban have only inflicted about 100 casualties on coalition forces in the past three months, while the body count of Taliban and civilians in south-western Afghanistan, most of them Taliban supporters, is estimated at more than 2,000. In some areas the insurgency has degenerated into internecine strife, so much so that even Karzai has decried the bloodshed and called on coalition forces to alter their tactics as "even the Taliban are sons of the soil".

As things stand, with the insurgency losing some of its focus as tribes fight each other, it only has a limited effect on the morale of the US war machine and does not bode well for the chances of the campaign turning the Taliban into an emboldened force to make a comeback. Hence the Taliban has once again changed focus by concentrating on foreign forces, rather than engaging the Afghan National Army.

ATO quoted Jangvi as explaining his optimism: "The Taliban's command structure started off with 10 commanders, and now it is expanding. As soon as we get back into the villages, towns and cities, we will revive our old networks and our old command structures. At present I can only divulge that now we have commanders in all Afghan provinces from north to south. Last year we did not have that network. More successes bring more strength and in the coming days the Taliban command structure will reach up to all districts and village levels. And once we attain that it means we will be returning to our old strength, that is, around 300,000 all across Afghanistan".

This number refers to those Taliban who were part of the regime's administration, police, army and other security apparatus during Taliban rule, and who after their downfall melted into Afghanistan's tribal population. ATO quoted Jangvi as adding: "...once we negate American air power and regain our whole strength, why can't we seize control of Afghanistan?"

Losing Afghanistan is not an option for the US as even a limited victory of the Taliban up to south-western Afghanistan would be a new base for the Taliban. This area would include the provinces of Uruzgan, Zabul and Helmand, beside a few districts in Kandahar. This is the reason why NATO forces will keep up the pressure in the region, notably by increasing the number of troops on the ground - especially from Britain.

Jangvi said: "More foreign troops means more of their casualties. This would be the time for the world Muslim community to understand that jihad in Afghanistan has reached a significant level and it is time again to help the resistance with manpower and money".

The APS source in Iraq, however, says bin Laden and his to Arab aides in Afghanistan were keeping their distance from leaders of the Taliban. This, the APS source adds, is despite the fact that al-Qaeda fighters still operate alongside Taliban militants and fighters loyal to Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the IUM. Most al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan are non-Arab volunteers (see news12-NeoSalafiPakState-Mar20-06 & news25AfghanWarlordismJun19-06).