Hundreds of escaped prisoners and other Taliban militants are said to be dug in a few miles from Afghanistan’s second largest city. Thousands of villagers have fled from orchards and vineyards, and today NATO forces and Afghan soldiers launched an effort to drive the insurgents out. Is this the predicted "Spring offensive," with Taliban forces better armed and more strategically savvy than ever before? Can they further damage the already shaky regime of President Hamid Karzai? Can they kill enough coalition soldiers to weaken support in NATO countries?
The Taliban in Afghanistan: Back with a Vengeance
Credits
Guests:
- Mark Laity - Spokesman, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Graeme Smith - Afghanistan Correspondent, Globe and Mail
- Larry Goodson - Professor of Middle East Studies, US Army War College
- Ahmed Rashid - Pakistani journalist
- Paul Fishstein - Executive Director, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit