Insurgents in Afghanistan show strength, sophistication
This summer, foreign troop deaths have exceeded those of U.S. forces in Iraq. 'We feel that things are going very, very well for us,' one Taliban fighter says.
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — A summer of heavy fighting during which Western military leaders had hoped to seize the initiative from Islamic militants has instead revealed an insurgency capable of employing complex new tactics and fighting across a broad swath of Afghanistan.
Over the last three months, insurgents have exacted the most punishing casualty tolls on Western forces since the Afghan war began nearly seven years ago. Numbers of foreign troops killed have exceeded U.S. military deaths in Iraq.
As Washington prepares to increase troop levels and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates paid a visit, militants have created a palpable sense of encirclement in Kabul with a series of small but highly symbolic attacks near the capital. They have reaped a propaganda bonanza from accidental killings of civilians by foreign forces and undercut reconstruction efforts by targeting aid workers.
Meanwhile, the vast narcotics empire presided over by the Taliban has continued to flourish, its profits helping to ensure a flow of cash and weaponry.
"In all, we feel that things are going very, very well for us," said a Taliban field commander in Kandahar province whose men fought hit-and-run battles with Canadian and British forces during the summer, the season when fighting is most intense. "And what is more, time is on our side."
Militants have suffered losses of their own. NATO- and U.S.-led forces, which total nearly 65,000 troops, say they have killed hundreds of insurgents over the summer. Dozens of veteran mid-level commanders have been arrested or killed, depriving insurgents of "what could best be described as their bank of institutional expertise," a U.S. military official said.
At the same time, though, militants have demonstrated new strength, sophistication and ambition, particularly in eastern Afghanistan. A roadside blast there Wednesday killed four foreign soldiers and an Afghan. The victims were not identified, but most of the international troops there are Americans.
"When you have six years of combat experience, you get steadily better," said Anthony Cordesman, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Western field commanders readily acknowledge that the Taliban and loosely allied militants learn from failures as well as successes. When Taliban fighters noticed that Western forces were jamming the signals insurgents used to detonate roadside bombs, they switched back to pressure plates that would be set off by the weight of a passing convoy.
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