New war plan: Crush the Taliban, then talk peace

Kabul » A new and possibly decisive chapter of the Afghan war is unfolding. The U.S. is preparing a major attack on the Taliban, the militants are being squeezed in their Pakistani sanctuaries and the Afghan government is trying to draw them into peace talks.

While "not prepared to say we've turned a corner," the top U.S. commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, told reporters at a NATO meeting Thursday that he is more optimistic than last summer and now believes the situation is no longer deteriorating.

Even if all the cards fall in NATO's favor, the conflict will likely persist for years.

But the U.S. and its partners now have a better shot at blunting the growth of the Taliban, which rebounded four years ago after being driven from power in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

If NATO recaptures the momentum, it could encourage the militants to seek a political settlement, which U.S. officials believe is the only way to end the conflict.

Attention is now focused on an assault by U.S. Marines and soldiers on Marjah, a southern city of 80,000 and the hub of Taliban logistics. Aid teams are to follow the troops to re-establish public services and government control in hopes of winning public support. It will be the first major combat operation since Obama in December ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Other NATO countries added 7,000 more.

"It doesn't matter if the Americans increase the number of soldiers, the Taliban will continue to pursue jihad," says Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi. he said.


Insurgent forces have grown steadily in Afghanistan -- from fewer than 400 in 2004 to nearly 30,000, by NATO estimate.
SLT