Afghan Forces Fail to Turn Back Taliban Gains

[Zarvan]

A member of the security forces in April during an operation against Taliban insurgents in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. CreditWatan Yar/European Pressphoto Agency

KUNDUZ CITY, Afghanistan — When President Ashraf Ghani visited the northern provincial capital of Kunduz last fall, after the city hadfinally been reclaimed after falling to the Taliban, he promised improvements to make sure things never got out of hand again.


Among the changes was creating three new administrative districts tohelp improve government support in the province. But nearly eight months later, those three districts are firmly under the control of theTaliban — and, in fact, government forces were never able to clear them and install the new officials. It is the same story in much of the rest of Kunduz Province, where the Taliban control or have mined many roads and have enforced their ban on smoking and listening to music in several areas.


Even in some of the Kunduz districts nominally under government control, officials’ true reach remains limited to the bazaars and the administrative buildings, with the Taliban having free movement in the villages, according to local residents. And last week, the government all but lost control of another district in the province, Qala-i-Zal.


“The district administrative building is neither with us nor with the Taliban,” the provincial police chief, Gen. Qasim Jangalbagh, said in an interview in Kunduz on Wednesday. “We have planted mines, and they have planted mines. So, it’s back and forth like that.”


The situation in the northern province speaks to a broader struggle this year for the Afghan security forces, with months of the Taliban’s offensive still ahead. Although the Afghan forces have so far done better in defending territory this year after a disastrous 2015, they have seemed unable to turn back the insurgents’ gains.

In southern Afghanistan, several districts in Helmand and Uruzgan provinces either remain under Taliban control or are cut off by the insurgents with the government barely clinging to administrative buildings.


Even the expansion of American powers to conduct airstrikes has not eased the concerns of local officials in a year in which both civilian casualties and Afghan security force losses are on pace for record highs.


Graphic: More Than 14 Years After U.S. Invasion, the Taliban Control Large Parts of Afghanistan

Abdul Karim Khadimzai, the head of the provincial council in Uruzgan, expressed concern that the security situation was spiraling out of control.


“Most of the districts are cut off by the Taliban and only the district centers are nominally controlled by the government,” Mr. Khadimzai said.


“There is nothing to eat and wear, our men are staying in the trenches for 14 months, and they are homesick and have not got a single day off to take rest or be out of danger,” said Anar Gul, a local police commander in Khas Uruzgan. “We are just counting days and night in this hardship, and any moment we are expecting death.”


In Helmand, officials said the government has been unable to regain the territories lost last year, although airstrikes have so far prevented further Taliban advances. The Babaji suburb of the provincial capital and many of the province’s northern districts remain controlled or contested by the Taliban.


Estimates differ about the amount of Afghanistan under insurgent control or threat this summer.

“As of May, our assessment was that approximately nine districts were under insurgent control and about 27 districts were under some level of insurgent influence,” said Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, a spokesman for United States forces in Afghanistan.


Sediq Sediqqi, an Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman, said government forces did not have control over nine districts and faced threats in 40-45 other districts that they were working to repel.

Privately officials worry that the Taliban threat remains at least as high as it was last year.

The Taliban made another push around Kunduz City this spring. While officials said changes in the chain of command and improved discipline had helped fend off the offensive, they were quick to note that American airstrikes have been the most critical factor.


Just weeks before slowing down the withdrawal of the remaining American troops in Afghanistan, President Obama gave his commander here broader powers to use force — essentially drawing American forces deeper into a war in which the Taliban are not the government’s only enemy.

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On Wednesday, the United States military announced for the first time that American troops had been wounded in combat with fighters for the Islamic State offshoot in eastern Afghanistan: Five soldiers were reported to have taken “nonlife-threatening” injuries during an offensive against the group in Nangarhar.


Mostly, though, the broader authority for American commanders has been a freer hand in using airstrikes to help the Afghan forces.


“As a commander, and working closely with my Afghan comrades every day, this is a big difference — it enables them to retain the initiative against the enemy,” Gen. John W. Nicholson, the commander of American and NATO forces, said in a recent briefing. “Whereas before we were preventing defeat, now we are able to help them gain and retain the initiative.”


One senior Western official in Kabul, however, said the loosening airstrike restrictions came out of a realization that losing more territory, particularly cities and district centers, could further destabilize the country as the fragile Afghan government is struggling to manage political and factional tensions.


The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private briefings, said that more intense airstrikes were crucial to trying to achieve some sort of stalemate with the Taliban that could eventually increase their interest in negotiating.


But in Kunduz right now, officials describe a situation in which district centers remain under government control, but the Taliban are just around the corner.

The main road from Gul Tepa, one of the areas Mr. Ghani declared a new district in November, to Kunduz City is cut off by Taliban mines, residents said. A trip to the city that once took 15 minutes, now rerouted, takes an hour. The road closures have also affected the region’s main agricultural produce: melons and watermelons.

“In Gul Tepa, it’s all Taliban — they treat us well, but they make every home serve them food every 10 days or so, and they have told people not to smoke cigarettes and hashish or listen to music,” said Zabihullah, a shopkeeper in the district who goes by one name. “Since the government said this place will be a new district, we haven’t seen the government carrying out an operation to come and help our pain.”

Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Mohammad Fahim Abed from Kabul, Afghanistan.

A version of this article appears in print on July 29, 2016, on page A3 of the New York edition with the headline: Afghan Forces Fail to Reverse Taliban’s Gains. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/29/w...ains.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld&smtyp=cur&_r=0

 

[Kabira]

Only advantage ANA have over Taliban is modern weapons. Otherwise both are pretty much same. Half of new recruits desert soon after joining and with large number of deaths ANA have no other choice but to throw them in to battlefield with barely week of training.

 

[A-Team]

Only advantage ANA have over Taliban is modern weapons. Otherwise both are pretty much same. Half of new recruits desert soon after joining and with large number of deaths ANA have no other choice but to throw them in to battlefield with barely week of training.

You forgot that biggest advantage my friend which is that the ANSF is supported by the people, made from the people and fighting to defend the motherland, on the other hand the Talis are a foreign backed proxy having no future in this country.

/Peace

 

[Kabira]

You forgot that biggest advantage my friend which is that the ANSF is supported by the people, made from the people and fighting to defend the motherland, on the other hand the Talis are a foreign backed proxy having no future in this country.

/Peace

How many areas are taliban stronghold? I mean from where they recruit? In Pakistan once N Wazisristan was cleared 80% of terrorist attacks were reduced. What ANA have to do to completely defeat them like Pakistan did with TTP? Many TTP members crossed over to Afghan side but at least they can't get back now since army have firm control.

 

[A-Team]

A member of the security forces in April during an operation against Taliban insurgents in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. CreditWatan Yar/European Pressphoto Agency

KUNDUZ CITY, Afghanistan — When President Ashraf Ghani visited the northern provincial capital of Kunduz last fall, after the city hadfinally been reclaimed after falling to the Taliban, he promised improvements to make sure things never got out of hand again.


Among the changes was creating three new administrative districts tohelp improve government support in the province. But nearly eight months later, those three districts are firmly under the control of theTaliban — and, in fact, government forces were never able to clear them and install the new officials. It is the same story in much of the rest of Kunduz Province, where the Taliban control or have mined many roads and have enforced their ban on smoking and listening to music in several areas.


Even in some of the Kunduz districts nominally under government control, officials’ true reach remains limited to the bazaars and the administrative buildings, with the Taliban having free movement in the villages, according to local residents. And last week, the government all but lost control of another district in the province, Qala-i-Zal.


“The district administrative building is neither with us nor with the Taliban,” the provincial police chief, Gen. Qasim Jangalbagh, said in an interview in Kunduz on Wednesday. “We have planted mines, and they have planted mines. So, it’s back and forth like that.”


The situation in the northern province speaks to a broader struggle this year for the Afghan security forces, with months of the Taliban’s offensive still ahead. Although the Afghan forces have so far done better in defending territory this year after a disastrous 2015, they have seemed unable to turn back the insurgents’ gains.

In southern Afghanistan, several districts in Helmand and Uruzgan provinces either remain under Taliban control or are cut off by the insurgents with the government barely clinging to administrative buildings.


Even the expansion of American powers to conduct airstrikes has not eased the concerns of local officials in a year in which both civilian casualties and Afghan security force losses are on pace for record highs.


Graphic: More Than 14 Years After U.S. Invasion, the Taliban Control Large Parts of Afghanistan

Abdul Karim Khadimzai, the head of the provincial council in Uruzgan, expressed concern that the security situation was spiraling out of control.


“Most of the districts are cut off by the Taliban and only the district centers are nominally controlled by the government,” Mr. Khadimzai said.


“There is nothing to eat and wear, our men are staying in the trenches for 14 months, and they are homesick and have not got a single day off to take rest or be out of danger,” said Anar Gul, a local police commander in Khas Uruzgan. “We are just counting days and night in this hardship, and any moment we are expecting death.”


In Helmand, officials said the government has been unable to regain the territories lost last year, although airstrikes have so far prevented further Taliban advances. The Babaji suburb of the provincial capital and many of the province’s northern districts remain controlled or contested by the Taliban.


Estimates differ about the amount of Afghanistan under insurgent control or threat this summer.

“As of May, our assessment was that approximately nine districts were under insurgent control and about 27 districts were under some level of insurgent influence,” said Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, a spokesman for United States forces in Afghanistan.


Sediq Sediqqi, an Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman, said government forces did not have control over nine districts and faced threats in 40-45 other districts that they were working to repel.

Privately officials worry that the Taliban threat remains at least as high as it was last year.

The Taliban made another push around Kunduz City this spring. While officials said changes in the chain of command and improved discipline had helped fend off the offensive, they were quick to note that American airstrikes have been the most critical factor.


Just weeks before slowing down the withdrawal of the remaining American troops in Afghanistan, President Obama gave his commander here broader powers to use force — essentially drawing American forces deeper into a war in which the Taliban are not the government’s only enemy.

Today’s Headlines: Asia Edition
Get news and analysis from Asia and around the world delivered to your inbox every day in the Asian morning.



On Wednesday, the United States military announced for the first time that American troops had been wounded in combat with fighters for the Islamic State offshoot in eastern Afghanistan: Five soldiers were reported to have taken “nonlife-threatening” injuries during an offensive against the group in Nangarhar.


Mostly, though, the broader authority for American commanders has been a freer hand in using airstrikes to help the Afghan forces.


“As a commander, and working closely with my Afghan comrades every day, this is a big difference — it enables them to retain the initiative against the enemy,” Gen. John W. Nicholson, the commander of American and NATO forces, said in a recent briefing. “Whereas before we were preventing defeat, now we are able to help them gain and retain the initiative.”


One senior Western official in Kabul, however, said the loosening airstrike restrictions came out of a realization that losing more territory, particularly cities and district centers, could further destabilize the country as the fragile Afghan government is struggling to manage political and factional tensions.


The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private briefings, said that more intense airstrikes were crucial to trying to achieve some sort of stalemate with the Taliban that could eventually increase their interest in negotiating.


But in Kunduz right now, officials describe a situation in which district centers remain under government control, but the Taliban are just around the corner.

The main road from Gul Tepa, one of the areas Mr. Ghani declared a new district in November, to Kunduz City is cut off by Taliban mines, residents said. A trip to the city that once took 15 minutes, now rerouted, takes an hour. The road closures have also affected the region’s main agricultural produce: melons and watermelons.

“In Gul Tepa, it’s all Taliban — they treat us well, but they make every home serve them food every 10 days or so, and they have told people not to smoke cigarettes and hashish or listen to music,” said Zabihullah, a shopkeeper in the district who goes by one name. “Since the government said this place will be a new district, we haven’t seen the government carrying out an operation to come and help our pain.”

Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Mohammad Fahim Abed from Kabul, Afghanistan.

A version of this article appears in print on July 29, 2016, on page A3 of the New York edition with the headline: Afghan Forces Fail to Reverse Taliban’s Gains. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/29/w...ains.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Great article showcasing how the ANSF with bulk of the International forces gone has maintained the security all around the country.
With one or two remote districts having negligible population, mostly in mountains exchanging hands poses no strategic problem to the AF government. Major population centers are controlled by the Gov where development and life continues on a rapid pace, as the state solidifies her backbone these one or two districts will also be taken in due time.

As said the Talis have the watches and AF Gov has the time, millions are continuing their education right now, this next generation has new soft spot for Talis

/Peace .

 

[Max Pain]

You forgot that biggest advantage my friend which is that the ANSF is supported by the people, made from the people and fighting to defend the motherland, on the other hand the Talis are a foreign backed proxy having no future in this country.

/Peace

The very high desertion rate of ANA soldiers suggests otherwise.
The taliban may be foreign backed, but certainly not foreigners

 

[A-Team]

How many areas are taliban stronghold? I mean from where they recruit? In Pakistan once N Wazisristan was cleared 80% of terrorist attacks were reduced. What ANA have to do to completely defeat them like Pakistan did with TTP? Many TTP members crossed over to Afghan side but at least they can't get back now since army have firm control.

You are comparing Pak army and institution decades old, far larger in size to ANSF which is relatively young and still learning by doing things? How long did it Pak army to dislodge TTP monkeys from Pakistan? As you can see it takes time and resources and looking at the greater scheme of things, I say the ANSF has done a commendable job.

Believe it or not the AF gov and the people are quite happy with the way things are, slowly but surely the state and its institutions are standing on their feet and the Talis are running out of time and more importantly a shift in generational thinking.

The very high desertion rate of ANA soldiers suggests otherwise.
The taliban may be foreign backed, but certainly not foreigners

I commend you for accepting the fact the Talis are a foreign backed entity.

This means that whoever they are, the ANSF has a moral high ground and the duty to fight against them no matter what the cost.

 

[Max Pain]

This means that whoever they are, the ANSF has a moral high ground and the duty to fight against them no matter what the cost.

then again, moral high grounds don't win wars.

 

[Kabira]

You are comparing Pak army and institution decades old, far larger in size to ANSF which is relatively young and still learning by doing things? How long did it Pak army to dislodge TTP monkeys from Pakistan? As you can see it takes time and resources and looking at the greater scheme of things, I say the ANSF has done a commendable job.

Believe it or not the AF gov and the people are quite happy with the way things are, slowly but surely the state and its institutions are standing on their feet and the Talis are running out of time and more importantly a shift in generational thinking.

.

Pakistan had resources but not will to clear N Waziristan because of General Kiyani. But how many N Waziristan are there in Afghanistan? Maybe afghan taliban influence is more wide spread then TTP ever was in Pakistan?

 

[TMA]

You forgot that biggest advantage my friend which is that the ANSF is supported by the people, made from the people and fighting to defend the motherland, on the other hand the Talis are a foreign backed proxy having no future in this country.

/Peace

The foreign backed Afghan Taliban are also supported by the people, made from the people and are fighting to defend the motherland. Even without foreign succor the Afghan Taliban would still continue the fight and have the means to do so as they are essentially indigenous.

The NUG is also foreign backed, nay - foreign created: NATO!

Though you are probably right that the Afghan Taliban do not have a future in Afghanistan as a government.

 

[nangyale]

You forgot that biggest advantage my friend which is that the ANSF is supported by the people, made from the people and fighting to defend the motherland, on the other hand the Talis are a foreign backed proxy having no future in this country.

/Peace

The Kabul administration is foreign sponsored and we know who is funding it, i-e US/NATO.

Maybe you can tell us which foreign government is funding the Taliban, who's proxy do you think they are?

 

[A-Team]

The Kabul administration is foreign sponsored and we know who is funding it, i-e US/NATO.

Maybe you can tell us which foreign government is funding the Taliban, who's proxy do you think they are?

There is a difference between a gov elected by millions of people voting, which needs assistance to get back on her feet and a proxy group that kills teachers and blows up schools. Now NATO and the US / the World is supporting a legitimate GOV, while a neighbour is supporting the later group, you do the math.

PS : Show me one gov in the region that is not sponsored in one way or the other by foreign funding / support?

 

[nangyale]

There is a difference between a gov elected by millions of people voting, which needs assistance to get back on her feet and a proxy group that kills teachers and blows up schools. Now NATO and the US / the World is supporting a legitimate GOV, while a neighbour is supporting the later group, you do the math.

A neighbour?

And which neigbour is that?

PS : Show me one gov in the region that is not sponsored in one way or the other by foreign funding / support?

Should that mean that if the Taliban have a foreign sponsor then they are just following the local custom.

 

[haviZsultan]

You are comparing Pak army and institution decades old, far larger in size to ANSF which is relatively young and still learning by doing things? How long did it Pak army to dislodge TTP monkeys from Pakistan? As you can see it takes time and resources and looking at the greater scheme of things, I say the ANSF has done a commendable job.

Believe it or not the AF gov and the people are quite happy with the way things are, slowly but surely the state and its institutions are standing on their feet and the Talis are running out of time and more importantly a shift in generational thinking.



I commend you for accepting the fact the Talis are a foreign backed entity.

This means that whoever they are, the ANSF has a moral high ground and the duty to fight against them no matter what the cost.

On some Pashtun forums there are Afghans who openly support the Taliban. I have talked to many of them and these same people are vociferous in their condemnation of Pakistan. This tells us that Pakistan is both a scapegoat for the terrorist-sympathizers as well as terrorist haters. I have stated before and state again. Nothing is more of a contention between Pakistan and Afghanistan than the Durand line and the Durand problem is one initiated with Afghanistan.

I went to said forum with love of Pashtuns and as a result Afghans. I came back dejected and banned from the same site witnessing the clear hatred of every single afghan against us. The terrorist sympathizing Afghans blamed us for being a US ally just like you blame us for supporting the Taliban. I have said before Afghans need to look within, critically and question themselves. This comes from a person with not an ounce of love or respect for the Afghan Taliban.

 

[A-Team]

On some Pashtun forums there are Afghans who openly support the Taliban. I have talked to many of them and these same people are vociferous in their condemnation of Pakistan. This tells us that Pakistan is both a scapegoat for the terrorist-sympathizers as well as terrorist haters. I have stated before and state again. Nothing is more of a contention between Pakistan and Afghanistan than the Durand line and the Durand problem is one initiated with Afghanistan.

I went to said forum with love of Pashtuns and as a result Afghans. I came back dejected and banned from the same site witnessing the clear hatred of every single afghan against us. The terrorist sympathizing Afghans blamed us for being a US ally just like you blame us for supporting the Taliban. I have said before Afghans need to look within, critically and question themselves. This comes from a person with not an ounce of love or respect for the Afghan Taliban.

I will have to agree with you on the notion that Afghans can't put all their dirty laundry in the basket of GHQ / Pakistan, there are serious issues facing the country where blaming Pakistan is just plain stupid. So how on earth can I blame Pakistan when corrupt officials buy and sale gov lands.