Taliban being 'defeated' yet expanding its influence over Afghanistan

Even though the Western propaganda and Karzai's regime have been reporting about "dozens of the Taliban killed" on a regular basis, and continuously proclaiming the "process of stabilization" in Afghanistan, still more and more information is seeping into the media that the real situation is far from what the propagandists are portraying.

Thus, the other day US Commander of the occupation force, Jeffrey Schloesser admitted that the Mujahideen attacks in Eastern Afghanistan increased by 40% over the past 5 months of the year 2008, compared to the same period in 2007.

At the same time German General Egon Ramms literally demanded that NATO dispatches additional 6,000 troops to Afghanistan immediately.

Ramms said, "We are talking a total of 5 to 6 thousand troops. We need them right here right now because we must retain certain regions of the country and win the victory over the Afghans" (text translated - KC).

NATO Generals were also talking about the real and not overstated situation (digestible for an average Westerner) during the Russia-NATO Council meeting last Wednesday. NATO invited Russian experts on Afghanistan to attend that meeting. The experts gave the strategists their advises and recommendations.

Russia's ambassador to occupied Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told journalists what NATO and the US are concerned about.

"Despite the annual increase in the numbers of foreign troops in Afghanistan, the Taliban's area of influence in the country is constantly growing," Zamir Kabulov told reporters after a Russia-NATO Council meeting in Brussels.

"I believe that the Taliban have an influence in more than half of Afghanistan's territory and control up to 20% of that area," he said, adding that there are many places that "are off limits to foreign troops".

The ambassador said that despite the six-year-long international peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan, in which NATO plays a key role, "The situation in Afghanistan in general continues to deteriorate."

Kabulov said that the power in Afghanistan and the occupation forces supporting it are "largely in control over administrative provincial centers and more or less strategically important large towns and roads connecting them, but the entire periphery and countryside is de facto controlled by the Taliban".

"The Taliban are gaining the upper hand over the NATO forces in guerilla warfare, thereby demoralizing the population as well as the foreign troops," the Russian ambassador summarized.