Pentagon Update

By Wendy Wang
Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, extol the progress made in Afghanistan since Coalition Forces started its campaign there in October, 2001, however he admits to challenges that remains a concern. Amongst those challenges are a seemingly growing Taliban influence, change of tactics on the part of the Taliban fighters, and the criminal elements within Afghanistan. US Coalition forces are offering their support to the Afghan law enforcement to combat narcotics, including finding alternative means of livelihood for poppy farmers and educating them on the harms of poppies.

NATO has a growing presence in Afghanistan and will continue to grow and take over much of the operations by July, though Eikenberry admits that he does not draw a distinction between NATO and the US.

During this period, Eikenberry admits that the Taliban has grown in influence in certain areas to the north of Afghanistan. Even as he admits that the Taliban has changed tactics, using more IEDs and increase in suicide bombing, though proportionally greater than a fairly low standard, he denies that the Taliban is receiving tactical consultation from foreign fighters. He says there is no evidence that points to growing cooperation between the Taliban and al Qaeda that may have attributed to recent rise in violence. He says there are no signs of "significant" Iraqi foreign fighter presence in Afghanistan. He would not attribute to the changing tactics of Taliban fighters, including the growing sophistication of IEDs in Afghanistan, to Iraqi influence. Security in Afghanistan is uneven at best, he says.