Six Afghan policemen were captured and beheaded by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan yesterday. The Taliban obviously targeted the police checkpoint and then overran it in the attack. It seems to me that this attack was a deliberate attempt to capture the policemen for the purpose of beheading them.
This is definitely a morale booster for the Taliban, and it definitely can’t be good for the morale of the Afghan police. I would have to call it a very clever ploy by the Taliban. If we put ourselves in their shoes we will understand the way that they have to fight this war. Their tactic is to stall for time and survive. They don’t have to win in the sense of wiping out the NATO forces in their country because they know that NATO can’t stay there forever. If they can continue to bloody our nose and survive that will be good enough for them.
Once we leave they will be free to take control and rule the area again as they will. The key word for them is patience.
On the other hand NATO has to be able to weaken the Taliban enough to allow the Afghan government to gain control. NATO also can’t measure victory in terms of wiping out the Taliban because it just isn’t possible. Taliban fighters are streaming into the country from all over the region, and the longer the war goes on the more Taliban recruits will join the fight. Attacks such as the attack on the Afghan police here are designed to wear away the will of our Operation Enduring Freedom ring customers to fight. If we can establish some control during the troop surge we should be able to meet our objectives.
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