The US and Afghan forces conducted an air mobile operation in Kunar province recently to disrupt the Operations of the Taliban and al-Qaeda there. The area is known as a safe haven and staging area for enemy combatants. Although there is nothing being said I believe that this is a part of the scheduled offensive that we have been hearing about. It seems that the US and coalition forces are attempting to cripple the enemy by cutting off his head. The situation reminds me of the story in Greek mythology where every time one of the heads of the Medusa was cut off another one would grow in its place.
This tactic would work on any given army at any time but it doesn’t seem to be working against the Taliban. Part of the reason may be that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are so decentralized that they operate easily in the vacuum of not being issued orders or directives. Their objectives are simple so its not hard for the individual soldier to know what to do. Just go out and kill as many people as possible.
The commander which friendly forces are looking for happens to be the one and only Qari zia Rahman. He was reported killed by Pakistani soldiers in a raid earlier this year but surfaced just to show that he was still alive and well. Since he is the top Taliban and al-Qaeda commander in the area so if our Enduring Freedom Military ring customers can kill or capture him it will be a joyous accomplishment for us.
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