Afghanistan: Taliban Move into Area Vacated by U.S.

The Long War Journal reported November 12 that elements of the Taliban are operating openly and without fear of retaliation in the Afghan province of Nuristan. The Journal says:

"The Taliban and their commander Dost Mohammed recently flaunted their control of the district to Al Jazeera. Dost, who some had claimed was killed during US and Afghan raids in Nuristan, granted an interview with the news organization from Kamdesh. Coalition forces attacked the Taliban in mid-October after the battle of Combat Outpost Keating and the subsequent US withdrawal. Mullah Abdul Rahman Mostaghni, a district-level Taliban commander, was thought to have been killed in the raid."

This gets at the heart of why General Stanley McChrystal, the senior U.S. commander on the ground in Afghanistan, is asking for about 40,000 more troops from President Obama. The basic strategy that is being followed is one of clear, hold, and build. U.S. forces can go into an area and clear it, but there are insufficient forces available to hold it while simultaneously moving on to clear other areas. When U.S. forces leave an area, the Taliban moves back in.

"The Taliban have created 'administrative units and the officials have been appointed,' an unnamed commander told Al Jazeera. 'We also established the judiciary department and the commission for the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice section,' the commander told the news agency. 'We are working on providing people's basic needs.'"

This problem isn't going to get any better unless we either increase the number of forces available to the commander on the ground, or reduce the number of areas in Afghanistan where our forces operate. It's a simple math problem when you really think about it. You have a set number of forces on hand in Afghanistan. You also have an area of responsibility. When the forces are insufficient for the area, you either put in more forces or decrease the size of the area.

The story continues "'The area is currently under the control of Taliban, who walk freely in the Kamdesh District,' a local resident told Al Jazeera. 'I do not think that the government plans to regain control over it. The local authorities, especially the security ones, are very weak and cannot do anything.'"

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/11/taliban_govern_in_th.php