Hundreds of Taliban fighters are reportedly setting up shop in Arghandab. This brings them painfully close to Kandahar proper, though I think fears of them taking over are more than a bit premature. I’m honestly curious? What is Sarah Chayes’ take on this? I am without the means to contact her (meaning: I don’t have an email address to contact her directly), and I’d like to know both that she is okay and protecting herself, and what her take on the situation is.
Meanwhile, for some much needed context back East, Carlotta Gall has her usual stellar reporting on what’s going on with Jalaludin Haqqani, the militant leader who simply will not die and let Siraj take over. There is little reason to feel confident things are going well in RC-East, despite what the military says through its media propagandists. Not only have the Americans made a seeming devil’s bargain with the ISI (quite misplaced, too, as all bargains with them seem to be), but their efforts at cultural knowledge in Khost needs more than a little work.
It is tough to look at things and not see looming disaster. Maybe if a few more countries can pony up a few hundred more troops, we can… no, nevermind, forget it.
This post was written by...
Joshua Foust – author of 1771 posts on Registan.net.
Joshua Foust is a Fellow at the American Security Project and the author of Afghanistan Journal: Selections from Registan.net. His research focuses primarily on Central and South Asia. Joshua is a correspondent for The Atlantic and a columnist for PBS Need to Know. Joshua appears regularly on the BBC World News, Aljazeera, and international public radio. Joshua is also a regular contributor to Foreign Policy’s AfPak Channel, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Reuters, and the Christian Science Monitor. Follow him on twitter: @joshuafoust
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The stuff in Kandahar is mysterious. The governour says “100s of fighters” NATO says “a few”.
I believe this is part of a feud between Wali Karzai, informal boss in Kandahar, and Haji Habibullah Jan, head of the Alazai. That feud led to the prison break and the retaliation attaemp by the governour.
NATO was used as a tool here fro some internal fight over loot.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2008/06/haji-habibullah.html
Yes, there are a lot of conflicting statements, most sounding like they’ve been construed to suit the speakers’ own agendas. NATO is now claiming that the Taliban have been cleared from Arghandab. I would assume that the Taliban pulled back to avoid engaging ANA/NATO forces, just like last year. News reports are just not emphasizing the fact that the Taliban are still dangerous in this area. I wish I knew a doable strategy for the ANA/NATO to hold Arghandab such that the Taliban could not reinfiltrate the area.
Actually, b, if all of this is only a tribal feud, that makes me feel better. The situation in Arghandab could then be settled by settling the dispute between Wali and Jan, negating the Taliban’s threat to take over the city.
There is a picture of her here:
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5213783&page=1
She’s training more NATO troops.
Mercy Corps just said they’re staying again.