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Hidden Costs of an Insurgency
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by MilanSturgis | July 20, 2009 at 04:33 am
106 views | 26 Recommendations | 7 comments
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FROM KABUL
All too often the only affects of an active insurgency is seen in terms of physical security and the lack movement it creates. One issue that falls into this chain of dominoes is economic security and the price the society pays with an insurgency. In the Afghan province of Ghor ,which lies to the west of Kabul, prices are escalating today faster than the level of wages and it is taking an economic toll on the population. A highway between the districts of Shahrak and Chesht is the lifeline of supplies in Ghor province and the highway has been shutdown now for one week with shopkeepers, market owners and traders of various goods slowly being squeezed out of business. The effect of the showdown has caused flour prices to rise over 10 percent during this shutdown while diesel fuel and gasoline are beginning to skyrocket in price as supplies become scarce due to the inability of getting goods into the towns. This is where the common person is suffering due to the political ambitions of the Taliban who strive to bring back a level of daily discomfort to the Afghan people so they will finally surrender to their demands. A campaign of economic terror should be met by Coalition forces by direct action against the Taliban in order to break their grip on the population and demonstrate the nature of NATO’s mission which is to bring a level of normality to the lives of the Afghan people. As long as the Taliban continue to inflict pain and suffering on its own neighbors NATO continues to have that golden opportunity to bring relief and hope to the population, but only if NATO acts with swiftness and decisiveness.
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MilanSturgis
Washington, District Of Columbia, United States
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Recommendations (26)
Amy Judd
Vancouver, Canada
smorrison20
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Paschen
Narita, Chiba, Japan
Babel-Fish
Negros Oriental, Philippines
albertacowpoke
Canada
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (7)
at 04:50 on July 20th, 2009
These are all great points Milan. Thank you for this analysis. It will be difficult for NATO to get this stranglehold of the Taliban under control. They have the ability to hide within the local populace and their influence and pressures make it difficult to get information on them.
Their hit and run tactics, with IEDs, suicide bombers and RPG attacks have been effective. In a normal war you close with and destroy the enemy, you occupy ground and don.t let them back.
The ANA and Afghan National Police forces have to be able to take over and provide their own security. Until this happens NATOs hands will be tied. I.m afraid NATO will be involved for a long time.
at 04:56 on July 20th, 2009
You are writing as if you where in Kabul and witnessing this...
Where is your source? Where is this news coming from and who published it?
"All too often the only affects of an active insurgency is seen in terms of physical security and the lack movement it creates. One issue that falls into this chain of dominoes is economic security and the price the society pays with an insurgency."
On what information and source do you base such statements?
at 05:01 on July 20th, 2009
Dear Paschen,
I am in Kabul-hence the header "From Kabul" get it?? I base the information on what I see, hear and travel travel the provinces everyday.
at 06:12 on July 20th, 2009
You see, I can not know that, since your page says that you are reporting from the US, you may want to change that. As you would say "Get it??"!
at 05:06 on July 20th, 2009
Dear Albertacowpoke,
Thank you for your measured and well thought out points. The problem is the ANP is not trusted by the local population due to the level of corruption, the ANA is much more a trusted institution in the provinces. My point today is the coalition forces have a golden opportunity to counter the insurgency as they default to their tactics of fear and intimidation. My one fear has always been when they decide to seduce the population rather than scare them, ala Hizbollah.
at 06:44 on July 20th, 2009
Thank you Paschen for updating as eyewitness....I've concentrated on the stories to get them out rather than the mechanism but that is important as well...thanks!
at 09:00 on July 20th, 2009
Good report - it's always the best to have someone who is actually on the scene and can see these things for themselves. The cost of rising flour is the most alarming here I find.