"A lot less than what they control in their source of origin (hint : it's a neighbouring country)."
If a fair man you'll recognize that the taliban don't CONTROL anything in Afghanistan. CONTROL comes with a challenge, test, and affirmation of primacy. Until tested, you don't know the extent of control at all. NATO has shown neither the fear nor the inability to fight and defeat the taliban over and over and over and...
Where we meet, it's no contest and that really seems indisputed by anybody.
As such, in much of Afghanistan the land is empty. In other areas, the taliban presence is truly minimal. The ICOS map for Afghanistan 2008 indicates a range in which the taliban have a permanent presence. By itself, this doesn't constitute control and a fair man would acknowledge that. Further, the report SPECIFIES the incidence of violence and the degree of severity-
ICOS Afghanistan 2008
Allow a moment for the map to load.
To date, the only area of consequence that's been undisturbed, utterly, is the areas south of the town of Garmsir in Helmand. That's roughly half of Helmand into which the British (until two weeks ago) had NEVER ventured. EVER.
Is it surprising that 60% of Afghanistan's opium is grown right there? To be fair, they've a modest force and have been fully engaged around Sangin, Lashkar Gal, Musa Qala, and Garmsir town but there's been little doubt in ISAF that the areas south of Garmsir all the way south to the Pakistani border represent a target-rich environment.
That's slated to change this spring, summer, and fall. We'll see what happens but the British MoD has been publishing some interesting stories of reconnaissance-in-force operations down there that have had some astounding contacts, great success, and suggest lovely opportunities for the near future.
After than, there are stretches of Nimroz and Farah that demand attention. 3/8 Marines are there now for the first time and that, too, will see some changes.
We'll let you guys know, of course, should we bump into an BLA training camps run by the Indian Army as we get close to the border.
RAW is everywhere.
Hope that helps with the control thingy. I really, really like the ICOS map for what it tells and hope that you'll actually view it closely for it's merits. In conjunction with the 2008 UNODC report on Afghan opium I believe that they are very revealing tools.
Thanks.