According to recent Pentagon and an independent website reports, combat deaths are on rise in parts of Afghanistan. American military death toll has been the highest in this month of June and they are still counting. There are no confirmed records of civilian deaths which could be increasing as well. Taliban is regaining strength and is reclaiming some parts of the southern and eastern regions of the country.
There are many reasons for the growing strength of Taliban. First of all, it is getting more support from confederation of militant groups from eastern Afghanistan for its fight against American military. These militant groups proliferate along the border of Pakistan and often take refuge in the tribal areas of Pakistan. They even launch cross-border attack into Afghanistan. Pakistan government’s peace talks and negotiations with these groups in the tribal belts don’t seem to work. American officials are growing skeptical about role of Pakistan too.
Secondly, American troops not only find it difficult to tackle the difficult mountainous terrain of Pakistan-Afghanistan border which is a haven for Taliban and militant groups, even the weather plays a tricky part. Insurgency and attacks are low in winters when mountains are covered with snow. Summer is the weather for combat. The tradition continues and now is the peak time of guerrilla warfare for Taliban backed insurgents. This could partly be the reason for increased violence in Afghanistan.
There seems to be no end in sight for the continuing war in Afghanistan. War is going on in the rough terrain of Afghanistan since 2001. The region has highest number of foreign troops which include some 32,000 American troops and 38,000 American-led coalition troops from other countries under NATO. Yet, there is a growing demand for more troops and sophisticated weapons from American side. Can more troops curb Taliban led insurgency?
Taliban will never give up its fight against the forceful military occupation of the region by America. They want to reinstate religiously conservative Pashtun led government in Afghanistan. They’ll continue to irritate and kill American troops with road-side bombs and small attacks and gain more control over regions. More troops and stock of sophisticated weapons will not help either. Modern wars never bring hope of peace.
source: IHT
