“Afghanistan’s lead resistance group, the National Resistance Front (NRF), has one message for the Biden administration: don’t ignore terror threats coming from Afghanistan. The group noted that mistake was made by the Clinton administration in the lead up to the 9/11 terror attacks.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the NFR’s head of foreign relations, Ali Maisam Nazary, said the time for action is now.
“Our message to the Biden administration is to not make the same mistake the Clinton administration (made) when they ignored the threat of terrorism in the mid and late 1990s and led to 9/11. The White House has to act fast and adopt a proactive approach to counterterrorism by allowing democratic and anti-terrorist forces like the NRF to liberate Afghanistan,” he said.
TALIBAN’S POWER CHALLENGED BY AFGHAN RESISTANCE FRONT, ISIS-K
The warning comes as the Taliban is facing a new low-intensity campaign in the north from rebels, who in recent weeks have launched attacks against its fighters.
Afghanistan’s fighting season is known to start in the spring and generally run through October. In previous years this was when the Taliban and its allies would wage attacks against U.S. forces and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
The current fighting is largely happening in the north of the country and is being led by the NRF in the country’s Panjshir Valley, a rugged and mountainous bastion of anti-Taliban resistance north of Kabul where the Taliban consolidated its control last September.”
Comment: A very small commitment of men and money would tie the Taliban in knots. But, if you are too craven to face up to that need, then suffer the eventual consequences of unchallenged jihadi control of Afghanistan. pl
Afghan rebel group asks for Biden’s support, warns of new terror threats | Fox News
The NRF still wants our assistance. That’s more than half the battle right there. This could keep two SF battalions busy rotating in and out over the long term. Food, medicine and such would be as important as weaponry. The region is certainly not lacking in the supply of weapons, although some of those switchblades munitions may come in handy. Just hate to see them show up on the blackmarket in the future.
TTG,
I’d give this lot a month – at most – against the Talibs.
Steve,
They’ve been going at it since at least last August with no assistance at all.
TTG,
Odd that I’ve heard nothing about this (I have some excellent ears there). What I have been hearing for months is low level infighting among the factions in the North, particularly between the Kandaharis and the Haqqanis, with some side-switching back and forth.
The Panjshiris have always been able to talk a good fight and their PR machine still grinds on. The last time they faced the Taliban they simply fled. Yet another case of the enemy of my enemy being little more than raking in the rewards.
My apologies, I do recall an incident where the Talibs sent a force into the Panjshir to put down resistance. The Panjshiris stood down in short order. Though there were conflicting reports it appeared that the Talibs did come out on top.
You need better ears Steve. It ain’t just the Massoud Junior’s NRF.
Six other active opposition groups against the Taliban include:
– The Afghanistan Freedom Front
– The Afghanistan Liberation Movement
– The National Liberation Front
– The Jamiat-e Islami
– The Hazaristan Resistance Front
– and the new Watan Dost Front (Pashtuns)
At least two of the above are coordinating with the NRF. Those two are also ethnic Tajiks: Jamiat-e Islami, and the Afghan Freedom Front from Andarab Valley. Plus the NRF has a base in southern Tajikistan with a helicopter or two for weapons & ammo resupply. Although they get many of their weapons off of dead Taliban.
None of these groups are currently strong enough to fight peer-to-peer with Pakistan’s ISI backed Taliban. But they can do an assortment of ambushes, hit-&-run raids, etc. The groups in non-mountainous, heavily controlled Taliban areas use assassination tactics to take out low and medium level Taliban leadership.
Leith,
The Panjshiris have spent the past 20 years living off Uncle Sam’s largesse while the Taliban+ have been fighting virtually non-stop. Without wishing to praise them they’re some of the hardest light infantry on earth, now with the freedom to roam pretty much at will, as they did from ’96 until they were interrupted by US airpower. Without that, what’s looking very much like the Northern Alliance are not a match.
It’s time for the West to stop pouring fuel on a fire (something we’ve become very adept at) and begin thinking about supporting the Afghan people who are now suffering mass malnutrition threatening the lives of 1 million children. That should be our priority, not helping one bunch of thugs kill another bunch of thugs.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113982
Steve –
After the Northern Alliance liberated Afghanistan from Mullah Omar, Bush and Rice elevated the Pashtuns in the South to lead the country and gave them the largesse you mistakenly claim was given to the Panjshiris. That was one of the dumbest mistakes we ever made.
You are right about malnutrition. I donate to the UN’s World Food Program for Afghanistan. Although it seems all those food packages are going to the south of the country. Unfortunately none of that food will feed starving ethnic Tajik children, or any other non-Pashtun children. The only thugs in Afghanistan now are the ones in charge.
for the
No. Hell no. Just stop with the idea of sending endless amounts of my tax dollars for overseas misadventures. We just tossed away forty billion to Ukraine for no reason.
“that mistake was made by the Clinton administration in the lead up to the 9/11 terror attacks.”
Ah! Because the 9/11 terror attack came from Afghanistan? 😀 😀 😀
jld,
As I recall, the 9/11 attack was planned and operationalized out of Germany. Bin Laden in his Afhgan hideout funded and approved.
Al and jld,
Don’t forget the Saudi financial support and operational support in the States.
Why was Bin Ladens Family in New York on 9/11…?? Werent They the Only Flight allowed to Leave the United States That Day..?? Why…Who Authorized..?? Did that Request go to Bush Himself..? Why Didnt nFBI Legal Dept Issue Search Warrants For
Suspected Bin Laden Operators in Flight School..?? Why Did Sec State Madelyn Albright Deny The Seals Request to Take Out Bin Laden When They Tracked him and had a Scope on Him..?? And So Many Qaeda Fronts Operating all over The USA..Openly…Repairs Shops..TexAs ..California..Nevada..Arizona..
Political Collusion Then…Political Collusion Now..
Disgusting Stuff…
JT
” A very small commitment of men and money would tie the Taliban in knots.”
Really?, why not try sending NATO and spending 20 years? would that not be more likely to succeed?
joe90,
Providing military assistance to the National Resistance Front is a far different commitment than trying to build a government and defense force as we tried to do for 20 years.
Saudis know how to grease the wheels of govt.
Taliban have done their damnedest to rub out the NRF. Recently sent their shock troops to Panjshir: Badri 313 and the Red Unit (AKA the Blood Group) armed and equipped by Pakistan. But they have not done any better than earlier ops.
Reportedly the Taliban Defense Minister, Mullah Yaqub who is Mullah Omar’s son, went to the Panjshir last week. He met with a number of people there and claimed that if the NRF forces do not fight back and come down from the mountains, the Taliban would withdraw from the valley. They saw thru his BS and refused. They probably know he is just a figurehead for the Haqqanis who would not honor any commitments.
Taliban is the little brother of Pakistan. Get rid of Pakistan influence in Afghanistan and you can get rid of the Talibs. But to do that is another bag of worms.
Someone outside is helping the NRF. Maybe their ethnic brethren from Tajikistan. Or perhaps India? Or France? Turkey is probably supporting Uzbek Afghans fighting the Taliban in Faryab Province. Iran is hedging their bets playing both sides, but not providing arms and equipment so far, not even for their Hazara co-religionists in Bamayan. Although they have just recently opened an Ababil UAV factory in Tajikistan. What is that about: Making it harder for Israel to hit? Covert help for Putin’s weak-a$$ drone industry? Or clandestine recon support for the Hazara resistance?
I don’t think I am craven.
I on the other hand understand that politics is mostly a game played for the sake of politics and money. I believe you are genuinely worried about “Jihadi control of Afghanistan”. Me, not so much. On the other hand, I am far more worried by the financial, logistical and training assistance the West provides to jihadis as an ostensible counter to enemies real or, more often than not, imagined.
I surmise you will take issue with the statement that enemies are often imagined.
If you were able to zoom out of your area of expertise however, you would understand that fiscality drives what is known as the “Raison d’Etat”. Throughout history, all empires, all, bar none, have eventually succumbed to adverse fiscal conditions. Fiscality is what drives state policy both internally and externally. Ideology is the justification. But fiscality is the driver.
At some point in the life of the hegemon, fiscality brings about the loss of central control. As institutions are gradually pushed to face extinction or sort themselves out, usually the Praetorian segments of government are the first to take things into their hands. Praetorians need politicians however and the relationship is symbiotic.
Amongst many others, the SIGAR and UNODC reports are two examples of documentary reports that should inform the actions of those individuals that are in policy making positions. Yet, they never have. More alarming still, I have never met anyone amongst journalists, UN & NGO officials or embassy personnel that even knows what they are let alone that they exist. Not one person.
There is a reason the UN as a whole has singularly failed to achieve its stated goals over the years. There is a reason the IMF and the WB do what they do in the manner they do it. And it is never anything to do with resolving an ostensible “problem”.
Let the Jihadis run Afghanistan. See how far they get.
If you are worried about “our enemies” taking over Afghanistan for whatever geopolitical “advantage”, take heart in the fact, the fact, that over the centuries many a hegemon have tried to conquer Afghanistan and all have failed miserably.
Leave Afghanistan alone.
Now, if individuals wished to go to Afghanistan to “help” in whatever way, sure! Why not. But government money to “help” peoples that hail from different cultural traditions and values to help them become more like us? That’s a fool’s errand. Very profitable for some entities, but, in its intellectual underpinning, a fool’s errand it is indeed. And we have hard proof for it!!
I don’t quite agree.
Forget the past. Here, the enemy is perfectly identified. He is a true enemy of humanity. The only positive thing about their management is the ban on poppies, if proven.
Minimal and inexpensive help can be provided. It is a question of lasting or, better, making them last. The classic victory is of minor importance.
A propos of nothing in particular…
Many years ago, I was introduced to a banker. He was your typical old money banker: white hair, suspenders, cigar, the works.
During a conversation about nothing in particular, as I sat sheepishly opposite his massive desk, he leaned back in his chair and asked me how much I thought the drug trade was worth globally.
As I stuttered unintelligibly some odd number that appeared large enough to me, he interrupted me and blurted out: “Billions!!!”. He followed up his initial question with a second question. He asked: “How do you think this money moves around the world? I mean, there is only so much you can put on donkey’s back across mountain passes”.
As I fumbled for words, the banker continued: “You need official channels. It is the only way to move that sort of money. Nothing else will do. Only official channels can handle the sheer volume!”.
That was my revelation.
Years later, as I was perusing the UNODC reports, the Afghanistan report always held a special interest for me. Succinctly, from 2003 till 2016 when I stopped reading the reports, Afghanistan went from 2000.00Ha under cultivation to 360000.00Ha under cultivation for opium.
As I reminisced my conversation with the banker, I have always wondered how the sheer amount of harvest could be moved around the country and processed discretely and how the resultant product could be moved around the world.
Comment: A very small commitment of men and money would tie the Taliban in knots. But, if you are too craven to face up to that need, then suffer the eventual consequences of unchallenged jihadi control of Afghanistan. pl
To what end?
Haven’t we (ie US) just squandered 20 years, trillions of dollars and innumerable lives in a vain-glorious attempt at controlling Afghanistan?
A very small commitment of men and money would be a good start at addressing the neglected needs found on Main St USA.
The harsh reality of 50+ years of failed US military interventions abroad is on full display for any person willing to see. The record clearly shows that megalomaniacal politicians, generals/admirals, commercial media, think-tanks and defense contractors are strategically/morally bankrupt. They have clearly placed their own myopic aspirations of domination ahead of what is best for this nation.
Any person calling for further interventions is either bat shit crazy or has been wholly co-opted by the system.
Documentary evidence shows that the intent was never “domination”. Generals in the field may have had good intentions. The foot soldiers and grunts certainly believed in the “cause” they were thrown into.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/us/green-beret-who-beat-up-afghan-officer-for-raping-boy-can-stay-in-army.html
But, at the top, at the political level and the high echelons of the Pentagon, the State Department and the CIA, the intent was always just churning cash. Unaccountably so.