The number of Taliban fighters has soared by 72% from this time last year, despite a massive boost in the number of Nato troops.
Research shows the Taliban - ousted in 2001 - now has a "significant presence" in the war-torn region and is growing all the time.
A new map released by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) also shows that a further 17% of Afghanistan has a "significant Taliban presence".
Norine MacDonald QC, ICOS president, says: "The unrelenting and disturbing return, spread and advance of the Taliban is without question."
Another worrying development is the fact that the Taliban fighters are focusing their terror campaign in northern Afghanistan. This follows their devastating losses in Helmand in the south east where British soldiers have killed several thousand Taliban in clashes
The area of Kunduz, where British Para Cpl John Harrison was killed saving journalist Steve Farrell, is particularly violent. This area had until recently been relatively benign.
Alexander Jackson, policy analyst at ICOS, said: "Eight years after the 9/11 terror attacks, the Taliban has returned to touch almost every corner of Afghanistan."
There is also a danger that the Afghan government - led by Hamid Karzai - has lost its grip.
It is possible President Karzai may impose a state of emergency but this could exacerbate rather than calm the current political tensions.
Jackson added: "The Taliban has expanded its grip on Afghanistan to the point where holding another round of voting will be more difficult.
"The Afghan people who did take the risk to vote in August may not be willing to risk their lives for a second round - especially when the first round was so riddled with fraud."
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11 comments:
Subrosa...
They are like ants, you kill one and then aother 5 come along. They are so primative that they are almost invisable.
I atctuly think we really do need to pull out becouse the longer we stay then the more support the fanatics get. The USSR failed and i think Nato is going to fail which is a bloody shame becouse along with the USA, the UK has put a lot of effort into this war at a huge cost to our troops, which you have often blogged about.
I think the direction of the war is wrong now, i dont know what the answer is but when your up against fanatics and the more you kill then the more they just come back at you.
Spook that's exactly what happens in these countries, especially ones where they've lived from other people's money.
Wicked people amongst them, to be sure.
...But if someone kicked in my door armed to the teeth...
and invaded my home,my village, my town and stamped all over my community, imposing conditions and regulations not of my culture or of my beliefs in the name of whatever.
I too, though a law abiding person within the context of my society would be more than sorely tempted to encourage the strangers with their strange ways to depart. Whatever their reason for being in my face and in my kin and my loved ones faces I would wish them to be gone and be willing to assist in helping them to do so by whatever means at my disposal.
If these strangers wish to help us, then help us from afar and leave us alone to sort out our problems in our way according to our laws and customs even if be a land of destruction, sorrow and loss that we create and substain.
That will be of our doing
...and that will be ours to decide.
Dare I say that's the thoughts of many in the military too wisnaeme. One step forward and three back.
The Afghanis need to survive and they'll say and do anything to make that possible.
In their shoes I may act the same.
The numbers are increasing in the UK a well. So we know where they are in Afghanistan, but not where they are over here.
We just shouldn't be there.
This is how I see it.
It's not our business how they live in Afghanistan, any more than it's their business how we live in Scotland. And we wouldn't want a them here telling us what to do, so why would they welcome us telling them?
We went in there because of 9/11, the atrocity which was carried out by Saudis trained, for the main part, in Pakistan.
But then the head nutter on our side, Mr Bush, didn't know his arse from his elbow, the American public was calling for revenge and Bush's VP (Darth Vader Cheney) had a company that wanted to build a pipeline through Afghanistan... so we went to war there.
It's fair to say that we couldn't have gone to war with Saudi Arabia. They have too much oil and too many weapons which we supply and the barbaric regime there is our friend. Likewise Pakistan, a military dictatorship at the time, was also our friend and bought lots of weapons from us.
So, when making his choice of country to invade to aswage the call for revenge, Mr Cheney was somewhat limited.
Bush wanted Iraq, of course, to get back at Saddy for outlasting Daddy, but it was the big dollars that would be made for Cheney if the pipeline went ahead that swung the deal.
I guess it's fair to say that somewhere in Afghanistan, Osama Bin Laden was hiding, but, probably pretty much as soon as the US set foot there he high taled it to Pakistan.
A glance at the history books could have told them that this was a waste of time, and of people's lives. But hey, who reads dusty old history books?
Scottish soldiers have died there bravely doing their jobs (along, o course, with soldiers from other countries).
Young lads mainly with a whole life ahead of them. It simply breaks your heart to think about it.
It is worth remembering too that Afghan civilians have been killed, whole parties of them, kids and all.
We just shouldn't be there.
Demetrius, when we give them money (more or less directly) to kill our soldiers then we shouldn't be there.
Very true and I'm told they're still pouring into UK, despite the new border controls which tinker at the edges.
Tris that's a super summary of the situation.
We just shouldn't be there is my feeling too.
Thank you. The waste of it all breaks my heart much more than it makes me angry. And it makes me very very angry.
Unfortunately tris we're going to be angry for a long time.
The tories don't have any plans to withdraw our troops either.
No need to fight some thing which you don't even belong. every one even the illiterates now understand that 9/11 theory was deployed by American policy so they may stay near to russia, china and iran to have access their with the use of limited resources. Neither i can see Afghanistan in the place of Cuba nor like Kashmir. We afghans will take our lands from those who dare to think to invade it. You know, talibans are fighting in response to their lives.what for Americans /Nato are fighting for?(just for $4000 package per month).Every one knows what the fuck Jews and British policy are but no one can do anything as we muslims are weak but one day we muslims will araised as narrated from our holy book and hadees that there will be a Karvan who will be wearing black turbines and will enlighten the name of Islam and will rule the world.So sad to say that only a limited people of British and american Policy makers are well educated who knows what is right and what is wrong, rest of 96 % of the americans and british (Public) are fools .All the time they shout the name of Democracy but cant they (public) see what sort of democracy is running down by americans and their alloys. I would like to tell every person round the globe that before writing any comment against Afghanistan they must atleast read the history of Aghanistan as they had given a tough time to Britians in Anglo Afghan wars, even your grand father Alexander was having a tough time in Afghanistan, according to history in Afghan record "Alexander spent 4 years in Afghan territory but he could never to the south and west side of the country ..only passed his time in the north and north east side of Afghanistan (kapisa & Noristan) and while to his way back to home ,he again choose this way because he was scared of defeat if he had choose which goes from the center of Aghanistan ".Respect the norms of Aghans else you will pay for every thing because last time it was Afghanistan who suffered all these troubles but this time neither the neighboring countries but the responsibles will have to face the music as we are still having TALIBANS
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