This is who we are fighting in Afghanistan (suicide, Eve)

[TashaN]

Originally Posted by stephenw

They seem close to gaining the upper hand, I was watching them on BBC news last night, there's a swagger about them.
Russia lost to them with the gloves off, it seems a huge task for Western forces to beat them without getting down and dirty.

Oh my friend, the US was behind them against Russia. Don't forget that.

[sandandfoam]

Originally Posted by TashaN

Oh my friend, the US was behind them against Russia. Don't forget that.

Very good point.

[Jaiket]

Is there an Afghani resistance to the Taliban to speak of?

[TashaN]

Originally Posted by Jaiket

Is there an Afghani resistance to the Taliban to speak of?

The so called government?

[kai]

yea there is opposition to the Taliban, the problem lies with the fact that the taliban are mainly Pashtun ,the Pashtun live in an area that spreads over the borders out of Afghanistan and into areas like waziristan where the coalition do not operate, so they regroup with impunity and come and go much as they please. The Taliban invoke such fear into people because they are capable of such violence that tribesman, villagers etc, will aid them when they turn up,

secondly there is so much corruption ingrained into Afghan life that the Afghans trust no one.


just an insight into the kind of people we are talking about here from wiki

Taliban - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[TashaN]

Originally Posted by kai

yea there is opposition to the Taliban, the problem lies with the fact that the taliban are mainly Pashtun ,the Pashtun live in an area that spreads over the borders out of Afghanistan and into areas like waziristan where the coalition do not operate, so they regroup with impunity and come and go much as they please. The Taliban invoke such fear into people because they are capable of such violence that tribesman, villagers etc, will aid them when they turn up,

secondly there is so much corruption ingrained into Afghan life that the Afghans trust no one.


just an insight into the kind of people we are talking about here from wiki

Taliban - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Opium


The official verdict of the Taliban however was otherwise. Mullah Amir Mohammed Haqqani, the Taliban's top drug official in Nangarhar, said the ban would remain regardless of whether the Taliban received aid or international recognition. "It is our decree that there will be no poppy cultivation. It is banned forever in this country," he said. "Whether we get assistance or not, poppy growing will never be allowed again in our country."[108]

However, with the 2001 US/Northern Alliance expulsion of the Taliban, opium cultivation has increased in the southern provinces liberated from the Taliban control,[110] and by 2005 production was 87% of the world's opium supply,[111] rising to 90% in 2006.[112]

Taliban - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now i know why the US have invaded them!

[TashaN]

Also read in the discussion ...

Extremely Biased

The article seems to be extremely one-sided and anti-Taliban, seemingly painting the organisation as evil (or at very least misguided) at every oppotunity. A "Criticism of Ideology" section exists, which is of course fair...yet the closest thing I found to a "Defence of Ideology" section (which this article should have), is an "Explanation of Ideology", which basically merely states that the Taliban are idiots who don't know any better. This article needs to be neutral, we shouldn't be painting the Taliban in a negative light.

Talk:Taliban - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[kai]

Originally Posted by TashaN

Opium


The official verdict of the Taliban however was otherwise. Mullah Amir Mohammed Haqqani, the Taliban's top drug official in Nangarhar, said the ban would remain regardless of whether the Taliban received aid or international recognition. "It is our decree that there will be no poppy cultivation. It is banned forever in this country," he said. "Whether we get assistance or not, poppy growing will never be allowed again in our country."[108]

However, with the 2001 US/Northern Alliance expulsion of the Taliban, opium cultivation has increased in the southern provinces liberated from the Taliban control,[110] and by 2005 production was 87% of the world's opium supply,[111] rising to 90% in 2006.[112]

Taliban - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now i know why the US have invaded them!

ah for the good old days my friend when opium was banned --as was television,music, education for women, and ground floor windows were painted over lest women should be seen from the street, glorious public executions and amputations know i know why they were so popular

The Taliban — Infoplease.com

[kai]

Originally Posted by TashaN

Also read in the discussion ...

Extremely Biased

The article seems to be extremely one-sided and anti-Taliban, seemingly painting the organisation as evil (or at very least misguided) at every oppotunity. A "Criticism of Ideology" section exists, which is of course fair...yet the closest thing I found to a "Defence of Ideology" section (which this article should have), is an "Explanation of Ideology", which basically merely states that the Taliban are idiots who don't know any better.

Talk:Taliban - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

well we cant have that, can we?

[Jaiket]

Nothing I've read about Afghanistan has described the Taliban as anything other than vicious thugs.