October 28, 2007

The Taliban Ambush -- A New Oxymoron

The Taliban staged another ambush outside of their main remaining stronghold at Musa Qala on encircling NATO forces -- with predictable results. Once again proving that surprise doesn't guarantee success, the Taliban forces lost 80 fighters, while the Coalition casualties remained at zero:

Taliban fighters opened fire on Saturday with machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades on the joint coalition and Afghan army patrol from a trench near Musa Qala in Helmand province, the most important town held by insurgents.

"The combined patrol immediately returned fire, maneuvered, and employed close air support resulting in almost seven dozen Taliban fighters killed during a six hour engagement," the U.S. military statement said.

Such large pitched battles are relatively rare in Afghanistan, where the Taliban prefer to "shoot and scoot" before air strikes can be called in.

But analysts say the insurgents are expected to fight hard to defend Musa Qala, in the north of Helmand, where they are heavily dug in after taking control of the town in February.

The Taliban took Musa Qala after a previous NATO commander accepted an ill-advised cease fire in the Helmand region, supposedly for humanitarian purposes. The Taliban quickly took advantage of the opportunity, seizing control and complicating the war effort in the region. NATO changed commanders and strategy, discarding the notions of cease-fires and instead opting for all-out responses to Taliban movements -- and the Taliban has lost every engagement since.

The Coalition feels they could eject the Taliban from Musa Qala at any time. However, they cannot make contact with enough residents in the town to ensure a smooth transition to non-lunatic power in the aftermath. They want to bide their time to keep civilian casualties and suffering at a minimum. However, the Taliban will remain a thorn in their side in that region until the Coalition forces finally push them out and into the open -- where air power and overwhelming force can shred them before they can seek cover.

They may not need to push hard at all. If the Taliban insists on recreating the Japanese bonzai charges, at least in spirit, with these disastrous "ambushes", NATO will be satisfied to take them out a few score at a time.

Posted by Ed Morrissey on October 28, 2007 9:54 AM | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

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Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.

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