By JEFF SCHOGOL
Any illusions that the Taliban were interested inward negotiating a peaceful short town with the Afghan regime as well as its international partners get got been dashed past times four days of grueling fighting across the country, during which the Taliban get got reportedly occupied Ghazni metropolis as well as wiped out upwards to 100 Afghan commandos inward a demoralizing blow to Afghan safety forces. Since August 10, the U.S. armed services has launched at to the lowest degree 24 airstrikes from B-1 bombers, A-10 Thunderbolt II assault craft, AH-64 Apache helicopters, as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones to back upwards Afghan troops as well as police force fighting to retake Ghazni, killing to a greater extent than than 140 Taliban fighters, Resolute Support spokesman Army Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell told Task & Purpose U.S. troops are advising Afghan safety forces on clearance operations, combined-arms integration, as well as other issues, O’Donnell added, Insisting that Ghazni “remains nether regime control” except for “isolated as well as disparate as well as Taliban forces remaining inward the city” despite reports from Afghanistan’s Tolo cable word network that showed.
“The Taliban’s attempts to enshroud themselves alongside the Afghan public does pose a threat to the civilian population, who were terrorized as well as harassed past times this ineffective assault as well as the subsequent execution of innocents, devastation of homes as well as burning of a market,” O’Donnell said. “Clearly the Taliban get got paid no head to the Afghan peoples’ calls for them to reconcile as well as bring together the peace process.”
The Taliban offensive came solely iii days later Defense Secretary James Mattis said that the Afghan government’s efforts to reconcile with Taliban fighters was the most of import role of the U.S. Southern Asia Strategy.
“No doubt, the strategy has confronted the Taliban with a argue to become to ceasefires that [Afghan] President Ghani has led as well as offered as well as to become into discussions,” Mattis told reporters.
In total, the Afghan regime has lost to a greater extent than than 200 troops as well as policeon 4 dissimilar fronts since August 10 the New York Times reports. Taliban fighters get got every bit good captured Ajristan district, annihilating the Afghan regular army commando unit of measurement that had been tasked with defending the area.
As of May 2018, most 35% of the Afghan population – nearly 12 1000000 civilians – either lived nether the Taliban’s direct dominion or inward contested areas, according to the latest written report to Congress from the Special Investigator General for Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan Reconstruction. Despite the Afghan government’s finish of bringing 80% of the civilians living inward government-controlled territory past times the cease of 2019, the Taliban continues to command to a greater extent than of the Afghan population.
NBC News has every bit good reported that State Department officials get got begun preliminary talks with the Taliban ahead of formal peace negotiations, but neither the U.S. regime nor the Taliban would confirm that to Task & Purpose. The move past times U.S. armed services commander inward Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan has denied that the USA is cook to negotiate direct with the Taliban, but the U.S. regime could participate inward talks betwixt the Taliban as well as the Afghan government.
In the meantime, the New York Times has reported that U.S. armed services commanders are urging Afghan safety forces to consolidate their checkpoints past times withdrawing from sparsely populated areas. “The relocation of forces doesn’t hateful retreat,” said Madina Qasimi, chargé d’affaires as well as deputy principal of mission at the Afghan diplomatic mission inward Washington, D.C.
Concentrating Afghan regular army units volition brand them less vulnerable to assault as well as volition let them to counter-attack whatever Taliban offensives, Qasimi told T&P inward a July 31 e-mail earlier the Taliban’s recent victories. When Afghan National Police demand aid defending local areas, the Afghan regular army volition get got over.
“No province is able to human being every kilometer of its territory past times a soldier,” she said. “If soldiers are non introduce inward a district it doesn’t hateful it is nether Taliban control.”
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