The buildup of soldiers in Afghanistan is beginning to show results, NATO says

An Afghan National Police officer returns fire during contact with insurgents at a field outside a village in Helmland.

From Thom Shanker and Alissa Rubin, the New York Times:  Despite deepening pessimism back home and disarray in the top American military ranks, officials insist that the buildup of soldiers in Afghanistan is beginning to show results: Commando raids over the last four months have taken scores of insurgent leaders out of action, in a secretive operation aimed partly at pressuring the Taliban to reconcile with the Afghan government.

About 130 important insurgent figures have been captured or killed in Afghanistan over the past 120 days, about the time that commanders turned their attention from the fight around Marja to a much more complex campaign around Kandahar, according to NATO military statistics. The targets have included Taliban shadow provincial governors and military commanders, as well as district-level financiers, trainers and bomb makers.

At the same time, American military officials say that the greater number of troops, along with more trained Afghan security forces, is allowing NATO forces “to confront the Taliban in places where they had not been confronted in the past,” said Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz, the NATO spokesman here. “This is tough, but we are in” the fight, he said. He predicted that given more time, there would be progress. …

For NATO soldiers, the last month has been the most deadly of the nine-year war, with 95 deaths so far in June, more than twice as many as a year ago, according to icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks official casualty reports. Afghan soldiers have not fared much better. …

Some senior NATO officers say that military intelligence has picked up initial indications that the increased Special Operations missions aimed at provincial insurgent commanders inside the country have provoked some Taliban leaders to begin internal discussions of whether to accept offers of reconciliation with the government. …

“We are seeing signs of damage to the insurgent leadership,” said one senior NATO official in Kabul. “There are some signs of fatigue.”  (photo: Getty)

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