Fighting alone, Afghans said to hold Taliban back

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http://kdhnews.com/military/fighting-alone-afghans-said-to-hold-taliban-back/article_357bf27c-4510-11e3-a7e9-001a4bcf6878.html



Fighting alone, Afghans said to hold Taliban back
Posted: Monday, November 4, 2013 4:30 am
Associated Press

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — The Taliban failed to capture any ground from Afghan security forces fighting for the first time without foreign firepower this fighting season, U.S. officials said, but the insurgents killed scores of soldiers, police and civilians in their campaign to weaken the government.

American and NATO officials said the fledgling army and police aren’t ready to wage a sustained war against a determined insurgency.

Coming just 13 months before most foreign forces are to withdraw, the mixed results reported by U.S. military officials underline the unresolved question of whether some of those forces should stay.

The assessment added urgency to the need for the U.S. and Afghanistan to sign a much-delayed security agreement that will allow a residual foreign force to stay on after the Dec. 31, 2014, withdrawal deadline.