Self-described Taliban fighters pose in October 2006 in Zabul province, Afghanistan. A U.S. military commander says there is a "wildfire" of foreign insurgent support coming into Afghanistan, and it's not all coming from Pakistan.


Cross-border insurgents flood Afghanistan
By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Oct 31, 2009 13:41:24 EDT

KABUL — The expansion of Islamic extremist groups across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region is “the worst I’ve seen it,” with Afghan insurgents receiving help from Iranian operatives and “very possibly” freelancing Pakistani intelligence agents, as well as a small but growing number of “deadly” foreign fighters, said Maj. Gen. Mike Flynn, director of intelligence for Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s headquarters here.

“I wouldn’t say it’s out of control right now, but this is a California wildfire and we’re having to bring in firemen from New York,” said Flynn, who has been tracking Islamic extremism for at least eight years in postings as director of intelligence for Joint Task Force 180 (in Afghanistan), Joint Special Operations Command, Central Command and the Joint Staff.

The U.S. intelligence community estimates that 19,000 to 27,000 insurgents are operating in Afghanistan, a roughly tenfold increase from 2004’s estimate of 1,700 to 3,200, said Flynn, who was brought in by McChrystal to head up intelligence operations for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and is considered one of the four-star general’s closest confidantes here.

Flynn compared the latest numbers with an intelligence community report in October 2001 — the month after the Sept. 11 attacks, when the Taliban still ruled Afghanistan — that estimated the Taliban army’s strength at 33,000 to 35,000, “with potentially up to 20,000 reserve fighters.”

“I’m not a big one to match numbers, but what I look at is their capacity,” Flynn said. “So the Taliban existed as a government — they had an army, it was defeated … and then we basically screwed this thing up. And what we did was we allowed it to come back, and when we really, really missed it.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/mili... /



unhappycamper comment: This either an Epic Fail or Mission Accomplished moment.