The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan is unlikely to stage a spring offensive in the volatile eastern region bordering Pakistan, the commander of US forces in that area said Wednesday.
Maj Gen David Rodriguez told a Pentagon news conference that Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters operating from havens in the largely ungoverned tribal areas of western Pakistan appear to have shifted their focus toward targets inside Pakistan rather than across the border in Afghanistan.
“I don’t think there’ll be a big spring offensive this year,” Rodriguez said. That is partly due to disillusionment with the Taliban movement among ordinary Afghans, he said, and partly because the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters see new opportunities to accelerate instability inside Pakistan. He also said Afghan security forces are becoming more effective partners with U.S. forces.
The Taliban have generally staged stepped-up offensives each spring, when the weather is more favorable for ground movement, although an anticipated offensive last spring did not materialize.
US officials have said in recent days that they do expect a spring offensive in the other sector of Afghanistan where fighting is most intense particularly in the southern area, a Taliban stronghold. That is one reason why Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week approved the deployment of an additional 2,200 Marines to the southern sector where NATO forces are in command.
In all, there are about 28,000 US troops in Aghanistan, of which roughly half are under Rodriguez’s command. Rodriguez said he needs no additional US troops in his area but looks forward to having another two Afghan National Army brigades, due to begin operating in his sector later this year.
Rodriguez also said that he sees no sign that the United States is preparing to send forces into Pakistan without the Pakistan government’s approval. “We’re not planning that. Pakistan is a sovereign government and we have no plans that I’m involved in or have even heard of to do anything like that,” he said.