Taliban attacks against Afghani government outposts

NK-SOUTHASIA-MIL 

Unclassified 

Foreign Policy Advisor South Asia – Nicolas Knull 

Distribution:                             

Section Chief North Pacific                         Section Chief MENA                                       

Section Chief Global South                         President Martin Widzer 

Intelligence Bulletin 

Kabul- 6 November 2018 

12:15 GMT 

Subject: Taliban attacks against Afghani government outposts. 

Event 

A Taliban attack against a border outpost, in western Afghanistan on Tuesday killed 20 government soldiers, and left more wounded, or missing. On Monday Taliban militants captured a security post outside the city of Ghazni, killing 13 members of government forces. These attacks, and other recent attacks, show that the Afghani security force is struggling to combat the Taliban. Even though the government controls the provincial centers, the Taliban has expanded its control in the countryside.  On top of the military casualties, Taliban efforts to influence the elections has resulted in 435 civilian casualties. According to the Defense Ministry in September alone, more than 500 soldiers were killed, and hundreds more were wounded. Afghani Forces are experiencing a casualty rate that is unsustainable, and the people cant participate in elections without risking their life’s. If things keep going this way, it will become difficult to keep the democratic government in power and could lead to instability in the Middle East. 

Action 

If Taliban attacks continue at this rate it will be difficult to retain control, and promote a democratic government. Russia is hosting multilateral peace talks with the Taliban. Afghanistan, and the United States will not attend these talks. I would recommend rethinking attending these peace talks to increase the effectiveness of these talks. I also recommend providing more training to Afghani security forces to help combat Taliban efforts. 

Millitary Aid- $200,000