Taliban Takes Control of 2 Afghan Towns

The Taliban...? Were they not defeated long ago?

With much of the (at least American) media attention diverted to more "victorious" news involving Iraq or the Israeli/Lebanese conflict, the Afghani situation has been largely under-reported as of late in exchange for the latest and greatest news. The fact of the matter is that it seems like Afghanistan may quite possibly be suffering from the slippery slope that accompanies most early pullouts by major powers in a regional conflict. The United States was essentially in and out of Afghanistan, and the Taliban as a mentality was never completely exorcised, which is the reason for the remaining US forces that are left there. With the military spread thin by a two-country offensive (as well as the aforementioned Israeli/Lebanese issue), the Taliban is having a relatively easy time re-staking their claims, or so I can glean from some Al-Jazeera viewing over the past few weeks.

To truly think a general mentality can be defeated is folly, and it is the same mistake that the majority of the world's nations are committing by thinking they can apply the so-called War On Terrorism in nationalistic terms. To say a nation is conducive to terror and to act upon such sayings by launching an offensive is to infringe on said country's sovereignty; That does not fly well in the global arena, because the implications affect a greater area than the country that is going to be attacked. This can be seen by the invasion of Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, the invasion of Lebanon, and the invasion of Israel. In short-term violent means, things may be resolved, but, as always seen in hindsight, the consequences are far-reaching in both time and distance.

In this case, Afghanistan seems to be in the same situation with more outright violence added to the mix. As can be seen from the Killing Fields of Cambodia, introducing violence to an already corrupted area only serves as a catalyst to a resurgence or complete fallout. Middle ground is rarely achieved, and therefore, usually not worth the risk. In Afghanistan's case, with the Talibani mentality, it looks like resurgence is the order of the day. They see that others are fighting back; They have no reason to quit themselves.