Report: Taliban Unscathed by U.S. Campaign

[Wretched Excess]

I wonder what the freaking amateurs in the white house THOUGHT the taliban would do when they announced to the entire world that we were leaving afghanistan in july?  in fact, I believe that in the west point speech, he mentioned that we were pulling out before he said we were committing to a surge in the first place.

naive, reckless, and ultimately dangerous.  if the republicans take control of the house, they should create a committee on the conduct of the war.  these idiots need adult supervision.

Report: Taliban Unscathed by U.S. Campaign

Despite a fierce U.S. military campaign aimed at paralyzing the Taliban in Afghanistan, insurgents have largely been able to absorb attacks and are playing a waiting game until July, when the U.S. troop drawdown is scheduled to begin, military and intelligence officials reportedly say.

While stepped-up airstrikes and special operations raids have damaged local Taliban cells, the attacks have not had a meaningful impact on the terror organization and have failed to put pressure on the group to seek peace, the officials reportedly said.

"The insurgency seems to be maintaining its resilience," a senior Defense official involved in assessments of the war told The Washington Post. The Taliban have consistently shown an ability to "reestablish and rejuvenate" within days of being hit by U.S. forces, the official continued.

Assessments made by the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency found that Taliban commanders killed or captured are often replaced within a matter of days, and in territories such as Kandahar where insurgents have been forced to flee temporarily, the groups are simply waiting for the opportunity to return, the Post reported.

U.S. officials said Taliban agents are intentionally holding back efforts until the start of President Obama's troop drawdown in July of next year. "The end is near," they tell one another, attributing the words to Taliban leader Mohammad Omar, the newspaper said.

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[Wretched Excess]

sorry, I was wrong.  first, he blamed george bush.  then he announced the surge.  and in the very next breath he announced the withdrawal.  so, the order was 1) george bush sucks, 2) surge, and 3) unsurge.

he was still pretty much teh messiah back then, and he couldn't say "good morning" without some form of "george bush sucks" preceding it.

Now, let me be clear:  There has never been an option before me that called for troop deployments before 2010, so there has been no delay or denial of resources necessary for the conduct of the war during this review period.  Instead, the review has allowed me to ask the hard questions, and to explore all the different options, along with my national security team, our military and civilian leadership in Afghanistan, and our key partners.  And given the stakes involved, I owed the American people -- and our troops -- no less.
 
This review is now complete.  And as Commander-in-Chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.  After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home.  These are the resources that we need to seize the initiative, while building the Afghan capacity that can allow for a responsible transition of our forces out of Afghanistan.

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[true_blood]

Dangerous indeed. I'm telling you, this imposter, this lord zero, is making such a mockery of this Country and making the Country look weak and powerless. It's absolutely disgusting. It's sickens me this man is still occupying the White House.

[Wretched Excess]

Dangerous indeed. I'm telling you, this imposter, this lord zero, is making such a mockery of this Country and making the Country look weak and powerless. It's absolutely disgusting. It's sickens me this man is still occupying the White House.

it's even pissing off his fellow travelers.  look at this, if you haven't read it already.

[true_blood]

One word = IMPEACH!

[DumbAss Tanker]

Wow, nobody could've seen that coming!  /sarc

My guess is that the military command knew they were in a no-win situation and still went on the offensive to show the flag and as a demonstration of force, without any bigger long-term goal.  Showing that we can operate anywhere at will does keep the Taliban in check until we pull out, so the publicized offensive was really still a worthwhile defensive maneuver so they don't get too emboldened trying to score on us big while we're unassing the place.  In other words, a very large-scale force-protection move.  The other thing with the publicity is that for reasons that make a lot of internal political sense to Karzai, he has become ever more touchy about collateral damage and the publicity minimizes chances of that, much as both the publicity and the extreme sensitivity to collateral damage limit the effectiveness of tactical operations.