Signs of friction, disagreements within Taliban: US commander

There are signs of friction and disagreements within the Taliban which has failed to meet any of their military objectives this year in Afghanistan, a top US commander in the war-torn country today said.
He also acknowledged India's positive role in Afghanistan and said that Afghanistan's export of agricultural products to India is a major push.
In 2017, the Taliban failed to meet any of their military objectives. They failed to take any cities, as they've attempted for the last two years, General John Nicholson, Commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan told reporters during a conference call from Kabul.

They suffered a significant amount of casualties from the Afghan-led offensive operations, he said.
"We are seeing signs of friction and disagreement within the Taliban leadership ranks. They know they cannot win in the face of this growing capability. In September, we saw them, in the face of these tactical setbacks, take a knee and change their tactics.
"They decided to stop attacking cities, trying to seize and hold terrain, and instead shift to suicide attacks and attempts to inflict casualties to prove their relevance," Nicholson said.

And so this, is a step back in terms of enemy tactics to a guerrilla warfare type of strategy, from one where they attempt to seize and hold terrain, he said.

The Taliban, he said, are interested in making money, and to some extent this movement has evolved into a narco insurgency, so that the profits from narcotics now exceed their operating expenses.
"And we find that the leadership of the Taliban fight over the money, and it's often divided along tribal lines. Our message to the enemy is that you cannot win the war.
"It's time to lay down your arms and enter into a reconciliation process. And if they don't, they're going to be consigned to irrelevance, as the Afghans expand their control of the country, or death," Nicholson said.

Nicholson said the government is expanding its control through offensive operations and brings those areas back under government control.
"Then we expect to see those areas under cultivation, when the farmers have a choice and they don't necessarily -- they aren't forced to be growing poppy -- we believe the government, in those areas, so far, in the country, has been pushing the listed agriculture.
"Why is this new? Because the markets in India are being opened up to Afghan listed agriculture, as you've heard President (Ashraf) Ghani talk about the air bridge to India and the export of agricultural products to India is a major push," he said.

The US thinks that the expanded government control will equate to less poppy cultivation.
Earlier in the day, the US and Afghan forces carried out strike against opium factories in Northern Helmand, the so- called emirate of the Taliban, where they have enjoyed relative freedom of action for the last several years and where much of their drug enterprise is located.
Nicholson said the Afghan air force led these strikes yesterday with A-29 attacks against drug labs.
And then, last night, they were supported by the US Air Force, with B-52s and other strike aircraft, to include the F-22 Raptor, he said.

"These also complemented Afghan Special Forces strikes. So a raid went in yesterday against a Taliban prison in Now Zad. And then these also complemented conventional offensive operations being conducted by the 215th Corps in Central Helmand," he added.