Afghan forces seem to have missed their lessons

Despite all the intervention and resources brought to bear, the Taliban still has the ability to strike with ease

It has been more than a decade since US- led Nato forces moved into Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban regime in the hunt for militants. A decade on, those same powers are turning their military operations inside out in a bid to extricate themselves from the mountains and valleys of that country.

Despite all of the intervention and resources brought to bear — with or without the assistance of the government in Kabul — the Taliban still has the ability to strike with ease at the places and timings of its choosing. The latest evidence of the unbroken ability of the Taliban sadly came last Sunday when a roadside bomb near Kandahar killed 10 people on a police truck. It would have been bad enough if this was the only incident that day — it wasn’t. The bomb was just one of four in Kandahar that left at least 24 people dead and scores injured. Over the past ten years, Nato forces have spent countless dollars and hours trying to build a cohesive Afghan security force capable of policing the restive country and curbing the threat of militancy. Judging by these attacks — the latest in a seemingly endless litany of such incidents — the Afghan forces seem to have missed those lessons.

When western forces eventually pull out or their mandates expire, it is Afghans themselves who must deal with the militants within their borders. If that means engaging in talks with the Taliban, then so be it, but the killing has to stop.