'', International Council on Security and Development, 8 December 2008

EXCERPT: "While the international community's prospects in Afghanistan have never been bleaker, the Taliban has been experiencing a renaissance that has gained momentum since 2005. At the end of 2001, uprooted from its strongholds and with its critical mass shattered, it was viewed as a spent force. It was naively assumed by the US and its allies that the factors which propelled the Taliban to prominence in Afghanistan would become moribund in parallel to its expulsion from the country. The logic ran that as ordinary Afghans became aware of the superiority of a western democratic model, and the benefits of that system flowed down to every corner of the country, then the Taliban's rule would be consigned to the margins of Afghan history.

"However, as seven years of missed opportunity have rolled by, the Taliban has rooted itself across increasing swathes of Afghan territory. According to research undertaken by ICOS throughout 2008, the Taliban now has a permanent presence in 72% of the country. Moreover, it is now seen as the de facto governing power in a number of southern towns and villages. This figure is up from 54% in November 2007, as outlined in the ICOS report Stumbling into Chaos: Afghanistan on the Brink. The increase in their geographic spread illustrates that the Taliban's political, military and economic strategies are now more successful than the West's in Afghanistan. Confident in their expansion beyond the rural south, the Taliban are at the gates of the capital and infiltrating the city at will."

To continue reading the report, click [pdf].

See also:
'NATO says no Afghan winter lull in fight with Taliban', AlertNet, 8 December 2008
'', The Canadian Press, 8 December 2008
'Top Taliban commander rejects negotiations with Afghan government', CBC News, 8 December 2008
'New efforts to arrange Taliban-Afghan Govt peace talks', ABC News, 8 December 2008

Related posts:
'Taliban regains power, influence in Afghanistan', 20 November 2008
'Afghan insurgency stronger than ever', 12 November 2008
'Taliban in control of 54 percent of Afghanistan: Senlis Council', 21 November 2007
'Taliban making gains in Kandahar: Senlis Council', 19 November 2007