Afghanistan

[Cluster]

Is The Middle Ages On The Comeback Trail

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Three years ago the Taliban operated in squad sized units. Last year they operated in company sized units (100+ men). This year the Taliban are operating in battalion-sized units (400+ men). So reported Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey (Ret), professor of International Affairs at West Point, after his second trip to Afghanistan to assess the balance of forces.
(...)
Taliban now have "excellent weapons" and "new field equipment" -- prized by the equipment-poor ANA -- and "new IED technology and commercial communications," McCaffrey said. "They appear to have received excellent tactical, camouflage and marksmanship training," and "they are very aggressive and smart in their tactics." (...)