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Kandahar Slips Back Into Taliban Hands

Generals give up on local officials and call for more troops

By Mat Probasco,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 14, 2009 1:25 AM CDT

(Newser) – Taliban forces using massive car bombs and threatening letters have slowly retaken Kandahar, reports the Washington Post. The Taliban's resurgence in Kandahar, its spiritual home, presents a complex problem for US and UN forces, both scrambling to find enough troops to stabilize the city. In many ways, Kandahar stands for the entire Afghanistan struggle. "We simply do not have enough resources to address the challenges there," said a senior US military official.

Afghanistan's second-largest city has a largely ineffective government, nonexistent public services, rampant unemployment, and police officers known as looters and kidnappers. Militants operate freely in the city. Many senior military strategists believe stopping Taliban gains will require a comprehensive counterinsurgency effort.

A destroyed car lie crippled at the site of an explosion in the city of Kandahar province last month. At least 41 people were killed in the militant's bombings, all civilians, officials said.
A destroyed car lie crippled at the site of an explosion in the city of Kandahar province last month. At least 41 people were killed in the militant's bombings, all civilians, officials said.   (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)
A cluster of vehicle bombs detonated simultaneously near a foreign-owned company that plans to build a road through an insurgent-held area in Kandahar province.
A cluster of vehicle bombs detonated simultaneously near a foreign-owned company that plans to build a road through an insurgent-held area in Kandahar province.   (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
JonmarkP
Sep 14, 2009 12:47 PM CDT
"'We simply do not have enough resources to address the challenges there," said a senior US military official." What do you need, General Dipshit, better PowerPoint slides? How about a brain that will tell you it's time to get your soldiers out of there? Oh, that;s right, they're not soldiers, they're "resources."
BlahBlahBlah
Sep 14, 2009 9:17 AM CDT
When will we realize that this is a pointless endeavor and cut our losses? Or are we just going to keep killing Americans in an unwinnable war? I fear that the current course of action calls for precisely that.

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