Afghan Envoy Says Taliban Strength Growing
Barry Schweid
Associated Press
05/12/2006
Taliban strength in Afghanistan is on the rise
and even with a growing NATO security force, the country's defenses
against explosive devices and suicide bombings are severely
strained, the Afghan ambassador said Friday.
Taliban, which controlled the South Asian country
for five years until it was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion in
2001, is acquiring more sophisticated weapons and motorcycles
from abroad and continues to receive training in neighboring
Pakistan, Ambassador Said Tayeb Jawad said in an interview.
Taliban fighters are crossing the border into
Afghanistan 15 to 20 at a time, and are able to kill five or
six Afghan police officers, who are trying to make do with old
Soviet-era jeeps, with a single mine, Jawad said.
"So what we need and demand is better help
for our police forces and also resources to strength district-level
administration," the ambassador said.
According to the Pentagon, 23,000 American forces
currently are in Afghanistan.
NATO, meanwhile, is increasing its security force
from 9,000 to a total of 21,000 by the end of the year, he said.
One reason for the spike in Taliban terror attacks,
Jawad said, was the NATO expansion in the south of the country.
"The terrorists hope to deter NATO countries and get them
to change their minds by attacking NATO troops," he said.
On Monday, the commander of U.S.-led coalition
forces, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, told reporters at the Pentagon
that U.S. troop levels had increased by about 15 percent since
the beginning of the year and that he was not ready to recommend
a reduction.
Jawad, however, said he expects the U.S. deployment
to be slashed by up to 3,000.
Eikenberry said the surge in Taliban attacks was
due more to weak government institutions than a major improvement
in Taliban's strength.
But Jawad told The Associated Press Friday that
Afghan troops were stretched thin and up against better weapons
in the hands of the Taliban.
In some instances, he said, 10 to 15 Afghan soldiers
are deployed to defend districts hundreds of miles wide. The
soldiers are poorly trained, not properly equipped, some have
not been paid for months and some have only two clips of ammunition,
he said.
"They are brave, but they are very
vulnerable," Jawad said.
