The Taliban, exploiting the relatively lawless border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, have been regaining ground in both countries. Earlier this month, they broke into a prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Today, the New York Times is reporting, they are positioning themselves to take over the city of Peshawar in Pakistan.
The BBC is reporting that the Pakistani army has launched an offensive against the Taliban (story and map).
ADDITIONAL NOTE, JULY 2, 2008 — Mark Mazzetti wrote in the Times on July 2: “The growing concern expressed by American commanders is fueled by intelligence reports about an increasingly complex enemy. The Pentagon report, released last week, describes the potential for ‘two distinct insurgencies in Afghanistan’: a Taliban-led insurgency based in the southern city of Kandahar, and a confederation of militant groups in eastern Afghanistan that occasionally find refuge in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The ’shared goals’ of the two insurgencies, the report said, ‘include the expulsion of all foreign military forces from Afghanistan, the elimination of external government influence in their respective areas, and the imposition of a religiously conservative, Pashtun-led government.’”
Mark Mazzetti, “Military Death Toll Rises in Afghanistan as Taliban Regain Strength,” The New York Times, July 2, 2008, A5
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