Clashes in Afghanistan Up this Year

Military clashes with the taliban are up this year compared to the same time last year. Thats due to the fact that NATO forces are taking the fight to the taliban. Ever since we invaded Afghanistan it's been a meat grinder for the taliban, for every coalition soldier that is killed something like 150 taliban are killed. Time to expand the meat grinder into northwestern Pakistan. Reuters

KABUL (Reuters) - NATO forces in Afghanistan have clashed more times with Taliban insurgents in the first two months of 2008 compared to last year, though fighting has occurred in fewer places, the alliance-led force said on Monday.

NATO says it is making progress against the Taliban, but analysts say there is stalemate on the ground that is eating into Western support for keeping troops in Afghanistan and pulling out foreign forces would hand the Taliban strategic victory.

In the first two months of 2008, there have been 595 armed clashes in 101 districts in Afghanistan, compared to 550 clashes in 88 districts in the same period last year, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

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The increase in clashes was due to greater activity by troops going after Taliban rebels, an ISAF spokesman said.

"It is indicative of the increasing activity on behalf of ISAF," said Captain Mike Finney. "We have been more active than we were last year and, in fact, insurgent activities have gone down because we are going out to get them ... rather than them coming to us."

Meanwhile, the United Nations said there had been fewer security incidents this year, compared to the same period in 2007.

"We have quite simply not seen that kind of decline ever in Afghanistan," the UN deputy special envoy to Afghanistan Christopher Alexander told a news conference. "It does not mean that Afghanistan is heading towards peace immediately, but it does mean that with hard work security can improve.