Kunduz assault bigger picture

[A-Team]

There has been a lot fuss in the media about the so called Tali assault on Kunduz city, those who have no understanding of the ground realities are making big fuss out of it.

Here how it’s playing right now and its long term ramifications.

- Kunduz was mainly defended by local militias ( ex NA ) who were thumping their chests that as ex-mujahidin they are enough to defend Kunduz against Talis and their brethren’s and no need for the regular army or the police. Ashraf Ghani called their bluff and showed in practice that the era of the militias is over. There is a pattern of ex-mujis especially in the leadership who use their so called Jihadi credentials to acquire more power but now this operation gives Ashraf Ghani an excuse to sideline these warlords, by pitching to the public these guys were there and the failed, long term solution is ANSF only

- When the Talis entered the city the massacred doctors, teachers, and looted normal shops, which provides an excuse for the government to explain again to the common public that if the Talis return this will be the Afghanistan they will be seeing.

- The regular army, the police and ANSF special forces are already in the the city and cleansing the Talis one by one. A number of the Talis were apprehended while they were running away wearing Burkhas, speaks volume of their courage.

- This operation will also provide an excuse for those advocating a stronger presence and assistance from the US and international community to the Afghan government in terms of resources, training etc.


So all in all I see this as a good omen for the Afghan government when it comes making institutions stronger, side lining militias and warlords and also attract long term US assistance.

 

[Spectre]

There has been a lot fuss in the media about the so called Tali assault on Kunduz city, those who have no understanding of the ground realities are making big fuss out of it.

Here how it’s playing right now and its long term ramifications.

- Kunduz was mainly defended by local militias ( ex NA ) who were thumping their chests that as ex-mujahidin they are enough to defend Kunduz against Talis and their brethren’s and no need for the regular army or the police. Ashraf Ghani called their bluff and showed in practice that the era of the militias is over. There is a pattern of ex-mujis especially in the leadership who use their so called Jihadi credentials to acquire more power but now this operation gives Ashraf Ghani an excuse to sideline these warlords, by pitching to the public these guys were there and the failed, long term solution is ANSF only

- When the Talis entered the city the massacred doctors, teachers, and looted normal shops, which provides an excuse for the government to explain again to the common public that if the Talis return this will be the Afghanistan they will be seeing.

- The regular army, the police and ANSF special forces are already in the the city and cleansing the Talis one by one. A number of the Talis were apprehended while they were running away wearing Burkhas, speaks volume of their courage.

- This operation will also provide an excuse for those advocating a stronger presence and assistance from the US and international community to the Afghan government in terms of resources, training etc.


So all in all I see this as a good omen for the Afghan government when it comes making institutions stronger, side lining militias and warlords and also attract long term US assistance.

Thank you for explaining things my friend, for a moment there I was worried about the ease and efficiency with whichTalibunnies.gained an important stronghold in Af without any significant opposition.

 

[A-Team]

Thank you for explaining things my friend, for a moment there I was worried about the ease and efficiency with whichTalibunnies.gained an important stronghold in Af without any significant opposition.

The ANSF is already cleansing the city, the Talis are running away, ignore all the fuss in the media, the Talis are no match for the ANSF, as I explained it was basically an operation to sidelines militas.

Ashraf Ghani has basically "Sun tzued" the militas

 

[GR!FF!N]

The ANSF is already cleansing the city, the Talis are running away, ignore all the fuss in the media, the Talis are no match for the ANSF, as I explained it was basically an operation to sidelines militas.

Ashraf Ghani has basically "Sun tzued" the militas

You meant t say ANA lured them in to complete "Political Objectives" ??There is not much update on counter offensive..I only heard that ANA secured parts of Kunduz,its Prison,Police Compound etc.

 

[Spectre]

The ANSF is already cleansing the city, the Talis are running away, ignore all the fuss in the media, the Talis are no match for the ANSF, as I explained it was basically an operation to sidelines militas.

Ashraf Ghani has basically "Sun tzued" the militas

Good - Ghani seems like a smart man - I hope ANSF destroys the Taliban and it's brutal philosophy to it's core.

Message should be surrender or die - Even Pakistan learnt this the hard way after years of attempting to negotiate with TTP - only after changing this tactic and going for scorched earth policy they are tasting success.

Negotiations, talks, reconciliation etc only gives breathing room to these terrorists to re-group and consolidate.

Regards

You meant t say ANA lured them in to complete "Political Objectives" ??There is not much update on counter offensive..I only heard that ANA secured parts of Kunduz,its Jail,Police Compound etc.

yeah, lack of coverage may be due to security reasons?

 

[GR!FF!N]

Most recent update is this one...

Afghan forces ready to take Kunduz back from Taliban, official says - CNN.com

 

[Paksanity]

The ANSF is already cleansing the city, the Talis are running away, ignore all the fuss in the media, the Talis are no match for the ANSF, as I explained it was basically an operation to sidelines militas.

Ashraf Ghani has basically "Sun tzued" the militas

Best of luck to Afghans in their fight against terrorism. I hope you will soon defeat them and Afghanistan will emerge strong as a coherent nation from this battle. I do think however that allowing Afghan Taliban to take over a city to make his point, President Ghani went a little too far.

 

[farhan_9909]

Good.

Send these monsters to hell.

though i was a bit angry at the locals last night after the videos of the siege surfaced.

 

[Sulman Badshah]

ANA should take control of these areas to get rid of Taliban ...

 

[Echo_419]

There has been a lot fuss in the media about the so called Tali assault on Kunduz city, those who have no understanding of the ground realities are making big fuss out of it.

Here how it’s playing right now and its long term ramifications.

- Kunduz was mainly defended by local militias ( ex NA ) who were thumping their chests that as ex-mujahidin they are enough to defend Kunduz against Talis and their brethren’s and no need for the regular army or the police. Ashraf Ghani called their bluff and showed in practice that the era of the militias is over. There is a pattern of ex-mujis especially in the leadership who use their so called Jihadi credentials to acquire more power but now this operation gives Ashraf Ghani an excuse to sideline these warlords, by pitching to the public these guys were there and the failed, long term solution is ANSF only

- When the Talis entered the city the massacred doctors, teachers, and looted normal shops, which provides an excuse for the government to explain again to the common public that if the Talis return this will be the Afghanistan they will be seeing.

- The regular army, the police and ANSF special forces are already in the the city and cleansing the Talis one by one. A number of the Talis were apprehended while they were running away wearing Burkhas, speaks volume of their courage.

- This operation will also provide an excuse for those advocating a stronger presence and assistance from the US and international community to the Afghan government in terms of resources, training etc.


So all in all I see this as a good omen for the Afghan government when it comes making institutions stronger, side lining militias and warlords and also attract long term US assistance.

The for explaining this my friend

 

[Hashim Deo]

Best of luck in cleansing your country from this scum.
However I have seen media outlets reporting that the locals were delighted and were taking selfies and videos with the Taliban. Is this true and if it is, where is this support coming from?

 

[Kambojaric]

Ashraf Ghani called their bluff and showed in practice that the era of the militias is over.

Are you sure about that. Several sources tend to suggest otherwise. An example below:

KABUL, Afghanistan — Facing a fierce Taliban offensive across a corridor of northern Afghanistan, the government in Kabul is turning to a strategy fraught with risk: forming local militias and beseeching old warlords for military assistance, according to Afghan and Western officials.

The effort is expected to eventually mobilize several thousand Afghans from the north to fight against the Taliban in areas where the Afghan military and police forces are losing ground or have had little presence. The action is being seen as directly undermining assurances by officials that the security forces were holding their own against the Taliban ...

We have experienced this failed experiment of militia-making before,” said Fawzia Koofi, a member of Parliament from Badakhshan, one of the provinces where the government is planning to form the militias. “This will spread the war from house to house, starting rivalries as everyone begins arming their own groups.”

The establishment of the Afghan military and police forces, which are said by officials to number more than 320,000 members as of late last year, has been held up as one of the signal accomplishments of the United States-led presence here. By many accounts, the forces have continued to fight effectively in a number of areas across the country, even with far less of the air support and logistical assistance that the United States had been providing in past years.

But the Afghans are taking casualties at an alarming rate. In the first four months of 2015, more than 1,800 soldiers and police officers were killed in action, and another 3,400 were wounded, according to a Western military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss figures not being officially released by the Afghan government. Those casualties are more than 65 percent higher than the amount during the same period last year, the official said ...

Even as the government plans to build new militias in some areas from scratch, the militia networks of Mr. Dostum, the vice president, and Mr. Noor, the provincial governor, are both rearming and expanding, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen commanders across three northern provinces.

In an interview, Mr. Noor said that relying on militias for self-defense “should be a last resort,” but that the government’s lack of success fighting the Taliban had left little choice.

“The use of force outside of government structures does not give a good message,” Mr. Noor acknowledged. “But it is a necessity now.”

In Aqcha District of Jowzjan Province, a patchwork of armed groups loyal to Mr. Noor and to Mr. Dostum have begun battling a fresh Taliban offensive, with only occasional coordination from the government. The district is strategically important because it sits along the road between the capitals of Balkh and Jowzjan.

Murtaz, a 32-year-old commander in Mr. Dostum’s camp, said in a phone interview that he formed a militia of about 20 men in Aqcha this year. He has lost three men and has suffered four gunshot wounds. He said that there were so many bands of armed men around that he was often uncertain which were with the Taliban and which were new groups formed to fight them.

“You don’t know who is who,” he said. “It’s difficult to differentiate between the uprisers and the Taliban. You can’t trust anyone.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/w...istan-reluctantly-recruits-militias.html?_r=0

 

[The Vicious Kind]

There has been a lot fuss in the media about the so called Tali assault on Kunduz city, those who have no understanding of the ground realities are making big fuss out of it.

Here how it’s playing right now and its long term ramifications.

- Kunduz was mainly defended by local militias ( ex NA ) who were thumping their chests that as ex-mujahidin they are enough to defend Kunduz against Talis and their brethren’s and no need for the regular army or the police. Ashraf Ghani called their bluff and showed in practice that the era of the militias is over. There is a pattern of ex-mujis especially in the leadership who use their so called Jihadi credentials to acquire more power but now this operation gives Ashraf Ghani an excuse to sideline these warlords, by pitching to the public these guys were there and the failed, long term solution is ANSF only

- When the Talis entered the city the massacred doctors, teachers, and looted normal shops, which provides an excuse for the government to explain again to the common public that if the Talis return this will be the Afghanistan they will be seeing.

- The regular army, the police and ANSF special forces are already in the the city and cleansing the Talis one by one. A number of the Talis were apprehended while they were running away wearing Burkhas, speaks volume of their courage.

- This operation will also provide an excuse for those advocating a stronger presence and assistance from the US and international community to the Afghan government in terms of resources, training etc.


So all in all I see this as a good omen for the Afghan government when it comes making institutions stronger, side lining militias and warlords and also attract long term US assistance.

Wrong .ANSF was present in Kunduz prior to the assault . Just a couple of days ago the police chief of Kunduz along with the army general and governor took pictures in the city center. ANSF were also present in Qalaizal district .This is further proved by the fact that the taliban showed images of captured T-55 tanks and Humvees.

And it isn't just Kunduz they are also carrying out assaults in the nearby Baghlan and Takhar regions.

Holding the city was never their intention. They took the city to take pictures ,raise their flag in the city center and free prisoners. This assault was a PR campaign they called it Op-AZM , to show that they can still carry out large coordinated attacks. It was more of symbolic assault as in 1994 they took kabul on the same day.


The Islamic Jihad Union responsible for carrying out the offensive had also swore allegiance to Mullah Mansoor.
This victory will certainly help him to further assert his control over the taliban leadership. This will also help the taliban in the upcoming peace talks.

Abdullah Abdullah just gave a speech asking pakistan to crack down on terrorists. Ironic isnt it !

 

[terry5]

Best of luck in cleansing your country from this scum.
However I have seen media outlets reporting that the locals were delighted and were taking selfies and videos with the Taliban. Is this true and if it is, where is this support coming from?

Seems so ,

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=150486381964829

 

[Samandri]

Holding the city was never their intention. They took the city to take pictures ,raise their flag in the city center and free prisoners. This assault was a PR campaign they called it Op-AZM , to show that they can still carry out large coordinated attacks. It was more of symbolic assault as in 1994 they took kabul on the same day.


The Islamic Jihad Union responsible for carrying out the offensive had also swore allegiance to Mullah Mansoor.
This victory will certainly help him to further assert his control over the taliban leadership. This will also help the taliban in the upcoming peace talks.

Spot on