Taliban resurgence as NATO troops replace US forces

RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday May 2, 2006

As NATO troops replace United States forces in Afghanistan, a resurgence of the Taliban is seen, according to a front page story slated for Wednesday's New York Times, RAW STORY has found.

Excerpts from the article written by Carlotta Gall:

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Building on a winter campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations and the knowledge that U.S. troops are leaving, the Taliban appear to be moving their insurgency into a new phase, flooding the rural areas of southern Afghanistan with weapons and men.

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"The Taliban and al-Qaida are everywhere," a shopkeeper, Haji Saifullah, told the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, as he strolled through the bazaar of this town to talk to people. "It is all right in the city, but if you go outside the city, they are everywhere and the people have to support them. They have no choice."

The fact that U.S. troops are pulling out of southern Afghanistan in the coming months, and handing matters over to NATO peacekeepers, who have repeatedly stated that they are not going to fight terrorists, has given a boost to the insurgents, and increased the fears of Afghans.

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The Bush administration is alarmed, according to a Western intelligence official close to the administration. He said that while senior members of the administration consider the situation in Iraq to be not as bad as portrayed in the media, in Afghanistan the situation is worse than generally portrayed.

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FULL ARTICLE HERE