Afghanistan: June 21, 2004

Archives

Although about a quarter of the armed Taliban operating in southern and eastern Afghanistan have been killed or captured, the rest of them are still trying to gain control of villages or towns. They have been unsuccessful so far. More tribes and clans are openly anti-Taliban, and American and Afghan army troops are more active in searching for, and chasing, the groups of armed Taliban. It's Summer now, and there's plenty of foliage in the hills and valleys, making it easier for the Taliban groups to hide. But not as easy to hide as they think, because of the heat detecting cameras used by American aircraft and UAVs.  The typical Taliban combat unit contains 30-40 men. Sometimes they move on foot or horseback through the hills. Many prefer to move in small groups by truck or SUV from one pro-Taliban village to another. When the Taliban think they are safely hidden under trees or tall grass, they are showing up clearly to the heat detecting camera in the American aircraft overhead. 

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close