Almost half of Afghanistan is at a high risk of attack by the Taliban and other insurgents or is under "enemy control," a secret Afghan government map shows, painting a dire security picture before presidential elections. REUTERS/GraphicFrom Reuters:
KABUL (Reuters) - Almost half of Afghanistan is at a high risk of attack by the Taliban and other insurgents or is under "enemy control," a secret Afghan government map shows, painting a dire security picture before presidential elections.
The threat assessment map, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, shows 133 of Afghanistan's 356 districts are regarded as high-risk areas with at least 13 under "enemy control."
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My Comment: This map was done before the June surge of U.S. Marines into Taliban controlled areas. I am sure that if the map was done today, there will be some differences.
Still .... after 8 years of fighting this map illustrates very clearly that U.S./NATO strategy has failed in Afghanistan. One can only hope that the new strategy of surging U.S. forces into Taliban strongholds will change the dynamics on the ground .... but I must confess that I am skeptical. There are not enough U.S./NATO forces on the ground, and the Afghan Army has clearly not been up to the task.
This year is going to be crucial one for this war and for U.S./NATO involvement in this country. If there is no marked improvement in the security situation by this time next year .... I will expect the entire U.S./NATO mission to start looking for the exits.