Frontline "War Briefing" Part 1

The war in Afghanistan faces many great challenges on its way to victory, these challenges will be hard to overcome and require much.

1) Pakistan

Throughout the war in Afghanistan, the Taliban have been attacking US forces, then retreating into Pakistan's tribal areas. These areas are not controlled by Pakistan or Afghanistan forces, they are lawless lands, where terrorists can hide easily and escape US attack. The US/NATO forces have trouble crossing the border into Pakistan, as the government prohibits them many times, but for many terrorists the tribal regions are easily accessible and provide a safe hiding place against US attacks. Pakistan is on the brink of collapse, with growing Taliban support and weak military forces, the government finds it very hard to hold back the Taliban. Pakistan has many Nuclear weapons, which could be a disaster if they fell into the wrong hands. Pakistan can't hold off the Taliban forces much longer, and their tribal areas are becoming a hiding place for the world's deadliest terrorists.

2) Terrain

Much of Afghanistan is high elevation mountains and is untracked. Many of the army's vehicles can't make it thru the rugged roads and often get stuck, creating a target for Taliban guns. Much of the Army's attacks in Afghanistan rely on air strikes, which are not accurate and often take innocent lives. The terrain makes it easy for the Taliban to hide, because they know the terrain so well, they can easily hide from US attacks and can easily attack US forces. Much of the enemy is dispersed throughout the rugged terrain and can easily attack, making it very hard to find and take out enemy forces.

3) Not Enough Troops or Supplies

Currently, the US does not have enough troops or supplies to maintain a strong presence in Afghanistan. Much of the fighting is done through air strikes, which often are not accurate and take many innocent lives, which affects Afghanistan's attitude towards US presence. Many of the outpost's in Afghanistan are very small and have to deal with fighting everyday, they constantly need support and resources, which the US can only provide sometimes. Only 33,000 troops are stationed in Afghanistan, they often are outnumbered and find it hard to maintain a presence in a nation with a population 366 times the troop number.

4) Enemy is Hard To Find

One of the biggest problems in the Afghanistan War is the fact that many of the Taliban fighters look like the population. In many circumstances, they are extremely hard to distinguish from innocent Afghan's. Much of the fighting is taking place in small towns, which are extremely hard to fight in, because the enemy is hard to track down. Many times, people are mistaken for being Taliban, and are killed. When many innocent people die, the moral of Afghanistan goes down, this makes it easier for the Taliban to gain support. Often the Taliban fighters are called "Ghosts" because they are so hard to find, many of them hide in the rugged terrain or dress up like innocent people. When the Army is fighting in the countryside, much of the attacks are surprise attacks, with the Army not knowing where the fire is coming from. Many times, Troops have attacked weddings and other get-together's, because they mistake them for Taliban meetings. These attacks have greatly lowered the Afghan moral and have created much anger and resentment towards US/Nato forces.