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So Much For the Vaunted Taliban Spring Offensive |
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Written by Snooper
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Thursday, 19 April 2007 |
 We have all heard of the upcoming Spring Offensive of the Taliban which theoretically signifies how badly the war efforts are going. Read this article and you decide what is good and what is bad.
I often wonder why it is that certain elements in this country cannot bring themselves to air, transmit, print good news. They are compelled to focus on the bad with the excuse that only bad news sells. This leaves the good news makers in the dark and treated as second-class elements. From CENTCOM: Coalition and Afghan National Army operations have blunted the Taliban spring offensive in eastern Afghanistan, Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel said at a Pentagon news conference today. Votel, the deputy commanding general for operations for Combined Joint Task Force 82, spoke to reporters via a video hook-up.
Votel said coalition operations seem to have countered the long-anticipated Taliban spring offensive.
“We have been more offensive than I think they have in our posturing and in our ability to dominate areas on the battlefield,” Votel said. “As a result of that, I think we've seen a decrease in activities along the border. And our ability to be in more places, along with our Afghan national security force partners, has enabled us to address a broader area across Regional Command East.”
Coalition and Afghan leaders began preparing to counter the Taliban offensive over the winter. More NATO and U.S. troops are in the country, there is closer cooperation with Pakistani forces, and more Afghan forces moved to the border area to stop Taliban infiltration. This seems to have paid off, Votel said.
“So I would not necessarily characterize it as any kind of offensive,” he said. “We certainly haven't seen it manifest itself to any great degree.”
There have been attacks, the general said, “but we have not seen what I would describe as a spring offensive by the Taliban.”
Read the whole thing.
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