Afghan insurgents in weakened state, claim US, NATO forces

KABUL - US and NATO officials have claimed that insurgents in Afghanistan are facing financial problems and are in a weakened state after a fierce summer of fighting.

In recent weeks, US and coalition troops have launched several large scale clearing operations to drive the Taliban out of key areas in Southern Afghanistan.

According to Fox News, in an effort to support their claims, US and NATO officials released a new Taliban recruiting video. The film shows a Taliban commander appealing to the Muslims in the Gulf States and Southwest Asia to donate money so that improvised explosive device (IED) supplies for suicide bombers could be bought.

However independent analysts have said that the Taliban has long been supported by Arabs in the Middle East, so verifying US and NATO claims that this plea for cash is evidence that the Taliban are in financial straights is impossible.

As the White House and Pentagon begin their December review of the current US strategy in Afghanistan, US commanders have publicly stated the surge of US troops is beginning to show positive results.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has urged the US to reduce the visibility and intensity of its military operations in his country and end the increased American Special Operations forces night raids that aggravate Afghans and could embolden Taliban insurgents.

“The time has come to reduce military operations. The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan . . . to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life. The raids are a problem always. They were a problem then, they are a problem now. They have to go away,” Karzai added. (ANI)