Special Dispatch | No. 2639 | November 10, 2009
Jihad & Terrorism Threat Monitor/Urdu-Pashtu Media Project
Al-Jazeera TV Report: Taliban Militants Seize Weapons and Ammunitions in Military
Posts Evacuated By U.S. Forces in East Afghanistan
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"This Withdrawal Enabled the Taliban Fighters to Completely Take Over These Three Districts, as Well as to Arrest Many Members of the Afghan Army and Police"
Anchor: "Taliban field commanders said that they plan to expand their operations to beyond the eastern province of Nuristan, which was evacuated by the U.S. forces last month."
Second anchor: "The U.S. forces justified their evacuation of the military base of Kamdesh by saying that the advent of winter required a new deployment in the region."
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Reporter: "To a great extent, this withdrawal enabled the Taliban fighters to completely take over these three districts, as well as to arrest many members of the Afghan army and police, who were in these three districts, alongside the U.S. forces. One of the dangers stemming from the sudden U.S. withdrawal from this province is that it dealt a strong psychological and moral blow to the Afghan army and police, because of the claim that the Americans generally send the Afghans to battle and then abandon them when the going gets tough. This is precisely what happened in the province of Nuristan."
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"[Americans] Claimed that They Turned The Bases Over To Local Authorities, But the Taliban Militants Say that they Entered Them the Day The U.S. Forces Left"
Reporter: "Al-Jazeera TV has managed to obtain exclusive footage of the seizure of these three districts and of the U.S. military bases by Taliban, as well as footage of the capture of Afghan soldiers and policemen in these three districts in the northern province of Nuristan.
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"The U.S. military base in the district of Kamdesh, one of three frontline military bases in the Nuristan province, east Afghanistan, was evacuated by the U.S. forces more than two weeks ago. The [Americans] claimed that they turned the bases over to local authorities, but the Taliban militants say that they entered them the day the U.S. forces left.
"Thus, the entire eastern region of the Nuristan province has become free of foreign forces and of the forces of the Afghan government."
Large Quantities of American-Made Weapons and Ammunition Fall into Taliban Hands
Taliban field commander Muhammad Zaher: "The Americans knew that there were preparations to attack the base, and they were on high alert for several days. They had taken up positions outside the base, but had returned to the base on the night of the attack, which made it possible for the mujahideen to attack them again."
Reporter: "The most important spoils of war, as far as the Taliban militants are concerned, may be the large quantities of American-made weapons and ammunition that fell into their hands, enabling them to continue their operations against the Afghan and foreign forces. This arsenal joins the old weapons in their possession. The Taliban commanders in Nuristan say that they have enough men, and they will send their weapons surplus to other places."
Taliban Leader: "We Have Defeated The U.S. Forces…"; Government Signs in Kamdesh Have Been Replaced By Signs of The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Muhammad Othman, a Taliban leader in Kamdesh: "We have defeated the U.S. forces, with the help of God. All these regions are completely free of Americans. The most recent defeat they suffered was at Ormar. East Nuristan has become free of U.S. forces."
Reporter: "The government signs in Kamdesh have been replaced by signs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and the Taliban flag has been hoisted on top of the government buildings, and the army and police posts. The U.S. forces have pinned their withdrawal on the onset of winter, which necessitated a new deployment in the region."
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