DAR AL ISLAM - AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN, RESURGENT

Taliban's Afghan Insurgency Surges

Afghanistan's defense minister, Abdul Rahim Wardak, says it is "difficult" to link Taliban weapons to Iran. The minister recently met with his NATO counterparts in Brussels, Belgium, amid questions about the focus and capacity of international efforts to tackle the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban are waging a robust insurgency, and there are signs that their presence has spread.

NATO has conducted a series of operations this year against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, such as Operations Achilles and Hoover. The Taliban have responded with its own offensive--Operation Kamin (Ambush)--against Afghan government and NATO forces, demonstrating their operational capacity with lethal suicide attacks and roadside bombs.

Violence began to increase in late May and early June as the first round of poppy harvesting ended. One reason for the upsurge has been the spread of violence into western Afghanistan. While most of the insurgency continues to be fought in southern provinces such as Helmand and Kandahar, the Taliban have made a push to infiltrate Pashtun areas of the west. The group has now penetrated key areas of southern, eastern and now western Afghanistan, as well as the tribal areas of Pakistan.

The Taliban seek to co-opt or threaten local villagers, promising better governance and security than Kabul can provide. A wide range of public opinion polls from organizations such as the Asia Foundation show that Afghans are frustrated by the lack of development over the past five years, and are unhappy with widespread government corruption.

The Taliban's organizational structure remains largely intact, although it has lost several senior leaders since late last year. A shura (or consultative council) oversees the Taliban at the highest level. The shura is divided into a series of functional committees covering military, propaganda, finance, religious, political and administrative issues. Most operate out of Pakistan.

Political, military and religious committees are located in Quetta, where Mullah Omar settled after the overthrow of his government in 2001. The financial committee is largely in Karachi, and the propaganda and media committees largely operate out of Peshawar.

The Taliban have created a variety of Web sites and have used Al-Sahab Media Productions, which has released al-Qaida messages, to make videos. The Taliban's videos are notably better in video quality and clarity of message than several years ago, and their use of the Internet has dramatically increased to spread propaganda and recruit potential fighters. They also publish newspapers, such as Zamir, and magazines, such as Tora Bora and Sirak.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Taliban's Afghan Insurgency Surges