Outlook Afghanistan
Aug 12, 2008
Afghanistan continues to remain the focus of the war on terror however inadequate attention is paid to it.
The hubs of insurgent activities remain intact.
Since their ouster in November 2001, the Taliban have maintained their ability to strike against the government and its foreign allies.
This retention of capabilities is rooted in the key areas of hotbeds of resurgent Taliban. These areas have also provided pretext for opium smuggling, which is a source of funding for Taliban insurgents, Al Qaeda terrorists and criminal gangs operating along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Reports say that recently Canadian soldiers appear to have caught the Taliban off guard in a large multinational operation through the western edge of Kandahar province where insurgents have usually felt relatively safe.
According to reports, in a secret mission that began last week, Canadians joined forces with American, British and Afghan soldiers to drive into the lawless Maiwand district, a centre of Afghanistan's illicit opium industry.
Insurgents have been using the Maiwand district, which lies between Canadian troops in Kandahar province and British troops in Helmand province, as a staging area where they store weapons and manufacture explosive devices to attack coalition troops. The operation is focused on Band-e-Timor, in the Maiwand region. According to military officials they have so far seized large quantities of bomb-making equipment and drugs.
Canadian Maj. Fraser Auld was reported to have said "Narcotics, weapons, all the paraphernalia you would associate with insurgents, we did find out there.” Needless to say, international and Afghan security forces should attempt to act proactively by discovering the strategic areas, which serve as planning and operation hub for the Taliban militants and brutal insurgents. It appears down-to-earth to say that the Taliban continues to operate with little difficulty because they are well au fait with some key points inside the country to launch their activities and strike the forces operating on the ground.
It appears that in addition to the bitter fact that the Taliban militants are able to maintain support bases in the lawless tribal areas along the border, they also make the most of incubating strategic locations in south and southeastern provinces to create nuisance for international forces. Due to ineffective strategy on the part of international forces, their operation now is in disarray. A countrywide map of the hotbeds of insurgent activity shows a daunting array of strengthened groups of militants with high motives.
The strength and organized activities continue to pose formidable challenges to counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, which have been unable to identify and target the countrywide hotbeds of insurgent activities.
