Afghanistan by the numbers

  Afghanistan is getting close scrutiny by a lot of parties including the world press, NATO, the US and equally important the Taliban. Depending on which side of the ideological divide you stand the numbers are either good or bad but they are certainly telling a story. This year violence is up 30%. Attacks by the Taliban are larger and more costly to the NATO troops. In fact, attacks are at a 6 year high which is a sign of how little progress has really been made there. These are measures of war but a more telling number emerged today and it speaks to the more important war for hearts and minds.

Afghan troops that have fought against the Taliban for up to 7 years are changing their allegiances. This year at least 70 have left the Afghan side, taken their US made weapons and training and have moved to fight for the Taliban rather than against them. This is a disturbing trend that sees the locals giving up the so called war on terror and instead electing to fight for it. Also the reasons given are intriguing. Fighters that have swapped sides are citing two primary reasons for their sudden shift of loyalty. Firstly, that they are treated poorly by the NATO troops and are subject to religious prejudice and harsh treatment. The other reason given is that they are not fighting one invading country but 24 of them. This reference is to the fact that there are troops from 24 countries on the NATO side. The locals see this as a major cultural invasion and an insult to their fiercely independent history.

A broader measure of the changing attitude of the Afghan people is that the Taliban is now not confined only to its traditional strongholds but is moving closer and closer to the capital, Kabul. This expansion is only possible if the local people are helping and hiding the Taliban fighters. The strategy for Afghanistan needs to adapt to this new reality before all is lost - not the military war but the support of the local people

Stay up to date automatically, make sure you subscribe to The Daily Clarity RSS feed!