Afghan soldiers defecting to Taliban two years after Australian soldiers withdrew

[saiyan0321]

The Governor of Uruzgan — the Afghan province where Australia's training and reconstruction effort was centred — says soldiers there are defecting to the Taliban.

Desperate officials said they would welcome Australian forces back.

Since September, Tarin Kot, the dusty home for Australia's soldiers and reconstruction teams until late 2014 has been menaced, Uruzgan's Provincial Governor Mohammad Nazir Kharoti said.

"The Taliban was coming very close to the city, I can say a kilometre, to two kilometres in some sites," he said.

Mr Kharoti has also confirmed that dozens of soldiers guarding one isolated post recently surrendered and defected to the Taliban.

He said they had been isolated and surrounded at the Mashal base in Chora district.

"For many days they have very tough and hard time, and they joined the Taliban side," he said.

Asked if he could confirm local media reports of 41 soldiers defecting he replied: "Around something like that, yeah."

Desertions, casualties deplete ranks
The latest American assessment of Afghanistan, released a week ago, highlights severe casualties and desertion as major issues for Afghanistan's understrength security forces.

The Afghan National Army alone is down almost 2,200 fighting personnel in just the last three months.

The same report, from America's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, also shows the Taliban increasing its territorial reach.

In Uruzgan, monitoring group the Long War Journal said insurgents control one of the districts surrounding Tarin Kot, while four others are deemed "contested".

Calls for diggers' return
Uruzgan parliamentarian Obaidullah Barakzai said the province's security began to deteriorate as soon as Australia's troops withdrew in December 2014.

"At the moment … the situation is not good here in Uruzgan because the Australian soldiers they already left, that's why the security situation is becoming bad," he said.

Mr Barakzai told Afghanistan's Parliament last week that just a handful of the security forces' camps for fighting the Taliban in Uruzgan remained operational.

Speaking through a translator, Mr Barakzai said Uruzgan would welcome Australian troops' return.

"If they are coming back to Uruzgan, the Australian soldiers, that would be very good idea," he said.

Governor Kharoti too recently asked Australia's ambassador to Afghanistan to send troops and attack helicopters.

The 12-year mission to Afghanistan was Australia's longest foreign deployment. Forty Australian soldiers were killed and 261 were seriously wounded.

As he reflected on poorly-supplied Afghan troops surrendering to join Taliban ranks, a long sigh reveals a sense of despair, and abandonment by the west.

"It is very hard," he said.

"It is very hard. Even to hear one person is joining the Taliban side, it is very hard.

"But, this is the war, we couldn't change it," he said, sighing again.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-...der-and-defect-to-taliban/8000172?pfmredir=sm

This is not impressive. The afghan army is under severe pressure and 2016 has turned out just like 2015 with the afghan government losing ground and losing many soldiers. I have again and again maintained that the Taliban will not even listen in peace talks much leaa compromise if they feel they are winning and the govt is losing.

The thing is the US seems to not care as long as the provincial capitals are not taken. Its obvious the afghan army experiment is only resulting in lives being lost of not only Afghan soldiers but also of innocent civilians who get caught in the cross fire aka the civilians struck in that air strike. The US needs to either leave and let then sort this mess out or enter once more, retake all territories and destroy all head quarters bcz this little status quo is not working.

We need to focus more on the fences and boundary. The situation is not deescalating.

 

[Qutb-ud-din Aybak]

inshort. they trained taliban.

 

[MadDog]

The Governor of Uruzgan — the Afghan province where Australia's training and reconstruction effort was centred — says soldiers there are defecting to the Taliban.

Desperate officials said they would welcome Australian forces back.

Since September, Tarin Kot, the dusty home for Australia's soldiers and reconstruction teams until late 2014 has been menaced, Uruzgan's Provincial Governor Mohammad Nazir Kharoti said.

"The Taliban was coming very close to the city, I can say a kilometre, to two kilometres in some sites," he said.

Mr Kharoti has also confirmed that dozens of soldiers guarding one isolated post recently surrendered and defected to the Taliban.

He said they had been isolated and surrounded at the Mashal base in Chora district.

"For many days they have very tough and hard time, and they joined the Taliban side," he said.

Asked if he could confirm local media reports of 41 soldiers defecting he replied: "Around something like that, yeah."

Desertions, casualties deplete ranks
The latest American assessment of Afghanistan, released a week ago, highlights severe casualties and desertion as major issues for Afghanistan's understrength security forces.

The Afghan National Army alone is down almost 2,200 fighting personnel in just the last three months.

The same report, from America's Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, also shows the Taliban increasing its territorial reach.

In Uruzgan, monitoring group the Long War Journal said insurgents control one of the districts surrounding Tarin Kot, while four others are deemed "contested".

Calls for diggers' return
Uruzgan parliamentarian Obaidullah Barakzai said the province's security began to deteriorate as soon as Australia's troops withdrew in December 2014.

"At the moment … the situation is not good here in Uruzgan because the Australian soldiers they already left, that's why the security situation is becoming bad," he said.

Mr Barakzai told Afghanistan's Parliament last week that just a handful of the security forces' camps for fighting the Taliban in Uruzgan remained operational.

Speaking through a translator, Mr Barakzai said Uruzgan would welcome Australian troops' return.

"If they are coming back to Uruzgan, the Australian soldiers, that would be very good idea," he said.

Governor Kharoti too recently asked Australia's ambassador to Afghanistan to send troops and attack helicopters.

The 12-year mission to Afghanistan was Australia's longest foreign deployment. Forty Australian soldiers were killed and 261 were seriously wounded.

As he reflected on poorly-supplied Afghan troops surrendering to join Taliban ranks, a long sigh reveals a sense of despair, and abandonment by the west.

"It is very hard," he said.

"It is very hard. Even to hear one person is joining the Taliban side, it is very hard.

"But, this is the war, we couldn't change it," he said, sighing again.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-...der-and-defect-to-taliban/8000172?pfmredir=sm

This is not impressive. The afghan army is under severe pressure and 2016 has turned out just like 2015 with the afghan government losing ground and losing many soldiers. I have again and again maintained that the Taliban will not even listen in peace talks much leaa compromise if they feel they are winning and the govt is losing.

The thing is the US seems to not care as long as the provincial capitals are not taken. Its obvious the afghan army experiment is only resulting in lives being lost of not only Afghan soldiers but also of innocent civilians who get caught in the cross fire aka the civilians struck in that air strike. The US needs to either leave and let then sort this mess out or enter once more, retake all territories and destroy all head quarters bcz this little status quo is not working.

We need to focus more on the fences and boundary. The situation is not deescalating.

When the recent Quetta terror incident happenned, Putin made a special statement about reinforcing anti terror coop with Pakistan. In terms of Pak's threat perception prism, the province of Nangarhar, infested by IS, is becomming breeding ground of ex TTP, LEJ-A elements. The nexus between them buttressed by NDS and RAW is hitting targets in Balochistan. Pakistan needs to involve China and Russia to directly talk to Afghan Talibs, bypassing Afghan govt. Talibs control the momentum in the battlefield as of now and can neutralize the ascendancy of IS in the region. Iran needs to be taken on board on this. In long term the security coop with Russia and China can be intensified as Russia will be keen on power projection in the region.

 

[Rasengan]

@A-Team Look at your pathetic army. Just be patient and your government will collapse.

 

[Counterpunch]

People are the real voice and they are the ones who are eventually left to rot by governments to deal with the mess created by foul policies, so they will be very cautious in choosing sides given the choice. And this time it seems they know local presence and influence of Talibs is not ignorable

 

[Shapur]

Taliban will be redundant if their is effective governance. Taliban just fill the vacuum created by the collapse of central government. This is mostly felt in urban areas because the rural people don't really need central governance and rule themselves through their tribal system which is hard to implement in Urban centers populated by various ethnic groups.

Contrary to popular belief Afghan army is not that hated by the Taliban or the common people as long as they don't shoot at the the Taliban. I have seen various video where the Afghan army and the Taliban are having tea and friendly conversation. Taliban know that these army soldiers are just trying to earn some bread for their families and come from poor families. That's why Taliban wants to negotiate directly with US/NATO and not the Afghan government because they feel Afghan government and army don't have a choice. Of course Taliban and ANA are not best friends and will kill each other when needed.

Afghan army dancing with the so called enemy, the Pashtuns.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Taliban will be redundant if their is effective governance. Taliban just fill the vacuum created by the collapse of central government. This is mostly felt in urban areas because the rural people don't really need central governance and rule themselves through their tribal system which is hard to implement in Urban centers populated by various ethnic groups.

Contrary to popular belief Afghan army is not that hated by the Taliban or the common people as long as they don't shoot at the the Taliban. I have seen various video where the Afghan army and the Taliban are having tea and friendly conversation. Taliban know that these army soldiers are just trying to earn some bread for their families and come from poor families. That's why Taliban wants to negotiate directly with US/NATO and not the Afghan government because they feel Afghan government and army don't have a choice. Of course Taliban and ANA are not best friends and will kill each other when needed.

Afghan army dancing with the so called enemy, the Pashtuns.

Are you telling us that all Afghan Pashtun are Taliban?

 

[Shapur]

Are you telling us that all Afghan Pashtun are Taliban?

No, That seems to be a popular belief among many foreigners who are not familiar with Afghanistan. Pashtuns are divided into tribes and depending on which side serves their interests, they will support that side. Among Pashtuns, inter tribal rivalry can play an important role, so one tribe might support Taliban if they feel Taliban are in their best interest and the other might support ANA. This is not something strange, often times when certain group feels neglected and is not happy with the status quo they will join any group which can break the status quo and give them power for example ISIS in Iraq whose members are former Baathists who lost power after US invasion. They changed from secular to religious extremists. That's why religion or any ideology is a powerful tool.