Heavy Taliban Losses Affect Recruiting, Possibly Tactics, General Says

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2005 – Taliban members who face off against coalition forces or the Afghan National Army are facing heavy losses, so they've resorted to recruiting young teens to join the fight, the Joint Staff's operations director told Pentagon reporters today.

Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway spoke following a July 25 incident that involved heavy fighting in a small village west of Deh Rawod in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province. The incident, which left one U.S. soldier and an Afghan National Army soldier dead, took a considerable toll on the enemy, the general said. Some press reports claim as many as 50 insurgents were killed, he said.

"My observation, tracking this day in and day out, is that virtually every time the Taliban come up against our regular forces or those of the Afghan National Army, they are losing pretty badly," Conway told reporters.

These continual losses are likely to affect the way these enemy forces operate, he said.

"What we suspect, over time, is that they are going to be driven to the standoff tactics that we see being employed in Iraq," Conway said, "because they can't sustain those kinds of losses and continue to remain viable."

The coalition has received reports that the Taliban is attempting to recruit 14- to 16-year-olds to their cause because "older and wiser" Afghans simply are "not buying into their rhetoric," Conway said.
source


IMHO I think we should pour in special forces their, and I know we have them their but I mean a lot of special forces. From every country, because if their gonna be using those types fo tactics were gonna have to kill them or capture them before they can do anything. Either way its good that their losing war, maybe we can use these new tactics to our advantage. Like using 15-16 year old boys to get information from them, using what they think they can use against us, against them. Hey you never know it may just work.

dont need so many, remember that a few hundred American Special Forces along with the CIA paramilitary, and SAS and SBS etc. kicked the Taliban's butt to Pakistan. along with Predator drones and other air support, its enough to handle the Taliban and its allied Al Qaeda forces.

Originally posted by deltaboy
dont need so many, remember that a few hundred American Special Forces along with the CIA paramilitary, and SAS and SBS etc. kicked the Taliban's butt to Pakistan. along with Predator drones and other air support, its enough to handle the Taliban and its allied Al Qaeda forces.

Enough to handle, I think we need to make up anti-terrorist strike groups, just like were making anti-narcotic regiments in South America. I know special forces can do that job, but it would be good to have regional units, in addition to the special forces already there for security, and hunting them down in the mountains. Because if you can stop them before they can set off a bomb it saves lives. I know it sounds weird, but I think a lot more pressure needs to be put on, especially in light of the recent news.

Well then, it is true.
The enemy is beginning to loose heart.
This rivals the grotesque coersion of that 9 yr. boy into attacking that Israelis.
We need to pray for deliverance from this evil.
So many lives are being destroyed by the lies and false hopes they offer.
- tass

Here for those who missed it...

Taliban Recruiting Children In Afghanistan