Taliban destroyed ANDSF M1117 ASV in Lashkargah, Helmand.
Tag: 2021 Taliban offensive
The 2021 Taliban offensive and events leading up to it.
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Clashes in Farah city
Taliban captured Farah city, the seventh provincial capital to fall.
Prisoners held in Farah city prison were also freed by Taliban.
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The messaging changed
The messaging changed.
Sami Sadat, General of the Maiwand 215th Corps in Lashkargah, Helmand, is not calling Taliban terrorists but is instead calling them young sons of parents whom he doesn’t want to kill but must in order to defend his city. It’s on point and the language I would have used.
Taliban thrive on being called terrorists because it’s a badge of honor given that the Bush administration casually threw that label around onto anyone that opposed them and calling Taliban terrorists drives recruitment.
I don’t know what this means, whether or not he was coached by someone (maybe the Biden people), but I’m making a note of it.
Of course, the rest of ANDSF parading around dead Taliban on the hoods of their Humvees and calling them terrorists every chance they get works against this messaging, so they should probably all get on the same page.
The Taliban, which met little resistance from the Afghan army, won’t face much additional resistance from warlords, which have largely been dismantled and disarmed by Kabul over the past twenty years.
Ghani is handing the war over to the warlords, not because he believes they can win, but because he’s attempting to make Biden nervous enough about warlords competing in another chaotic Afghan civil war to change course and return American troops to Afghanistan.
Though Biden has shown some flexibility with USAF intervention, Biden is continuing to maintain that the US will do little else besides provide the current level of air support.
The real conflict is not the Afghan government vs. the Taliban, that’s not even a contest yet, but Ghani playing the victim vs. Biden responding with tough love.
Ghani is still betting Biden will surrender to him.
Biden sent Khalilzad to Doha to beg Taliban for peace. Too late now, but good luck.
Red Cross treated 4,042 wounded in Afghanistan since August 1st.