Comments on: 2007 Called. It wants its Musa Qala Back

By: Joel Hafvenstein

Joel Hafvenstein — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:16:17 +0000

Last year Badghis went downhill and turned into a minor Taliban stronghold — sort of where Kunduz was two years ago, or Wardak. It’s now a center for destabilization activities extending south to Herat and Ghor and north into Faryab, Jawzjan, and Sar-e-Pul.

By: M Shannon

M Shannon — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:56:14 +0000

If the Taliban were smart they would announce that they would not interfere with the vote because it was a waste of time and was already rigged for Karzai by the CIA. Most Afghans would readily believe this. Many expect this.

They wouldn’t kill any voters and any government crowing about what a good job the security forces did would be irrelevant.

Meanwhile they could still attack the government and NATO and work on advertising their new civilian friendly ROE which was recently announced.

By: Sean Alexander

Sean Alexander — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:45:08 +0000

Such sarcasm in this post
I applaud the British govt for wanting to try anything (if I must), but as you pointed out, this was tried before and went over like a lead balloon. So, fool you once….

By: Dafydd

Dafydd — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:38:06 +0000

Whatever anyone else may think, the taliban pretty clearly must consider themselves on the front foot at the moment.

A truce in this place is great for them. They can train, store supplies & retreat here. Then they use it as a springboard to attack Herat.

With Turkmenistan being amongst the least pro Western of all bordering nations, there is a strong possibility of an alternative supply route too.

By the way, ‘fairly non violent’ and ‘Taliban Stronghold’ are not necessarily inconsistent.

If the government does not dispute Taliban control there, it will be just about the most peaceful place in Afghanistan.

By: Lills

Lills — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:16:03 +0000

I lived in Badghis for almost 2 years working with an NGO. It went from a fairly peaceful place where we had freedom of movement – and I mean REAL freedom of movement, by car, by bike, by horse! – to the place i eventually left, full of fear and sleepless nights after my staff house was attacked. It is most certainly a Taliban stronghold. And whomever is making this deal is committing to a fool’s bargain…..