Taliban Resilient to U.S. Attacks

Will the war ever end? Despite a surge in troop numbers and an intense new American strategy aimed at clearing out Taliban strongholds, insurgents in Afghanistan have been largely able to absorb the attacks, according to U.S. military officials. “The insurgency seems to be maintaining its resilience,” said one Defense Department expert. The Obama team is planning a review of the Afghan war strategy in December, and General David H. Petraeus, the chief U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has promised progress by then. But some say that the Taliban is simply playing a waiting game until July, when U.S. troop levels are set to recede. According to these officials, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar tells his operatives, “The end is near.”