Afghanistan Issues: Frontline "War Briefing" Summary
Part 1-
The complicated relations and the struggle for power in Asia pose many difficulties for U.S. and NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan. Many of these problems are rooted from the Taliban and their work to create chaos for the Afghanistan government and the foreign forces involved in their country. First, the number of troops we have stationed in Afghanistan is far too few to be as effective as needed. Military officials in Afghanistan have asked for more troops than we can even provide. Second, the Taliban are able to move across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border (Pakistan has supported the Taliban, because of the Afghani government's support of India), however our forces are not allowed to cross the border. Thus, U.S. forces have truned to air strikes with unmanned aerial vehicles. And even if we do succeed in killing the target, the dead leader is often seen as a hero and there is always someone else to take their place. Third, U.S./NATO forces try to win over villages, however the villagers are often unwilling to give information to U.S./NATO forces becuase of threats from the Taliban. We provide aid and goods, however the fear the Taliban instills is greaters incentive to not cooperate than our propositions for cooperation. Finally, the insurgents that U.S./NATO forces are fighting are among the civilians nad villagers of the region. They go about regular business by day and then shoot off rockets and retaliate against troops sometimes by night. The Taliban is growing stronger. They have funding from the opium economy and are acquiring a payroll through smuggling. The fact that the Afghanistan government is considered by many to be "weak, corrupt, and ineffective," only supports the Taliban's cause. The problems that U.S./NATO forces face fighting in Afghanistan can only be described as countless.

Part 2-
Children throughout Pakistan are affected by the war. The Taliban do not believe that women should be educated and have blown up many government schools. Families are constantly reminded of the war, with attacks from the Taliban, and many families have fled their homes. Children have been particularly affected because of the Taliban's ban girls being educated, and the madrassas they have set up for the religious education for boys. In these Madrassas, the Taliban teach through reading the Koran, but also teach their ideals regarding women, suicide attacks, and executions. Boys are often recruited to these Madrassas at a very young age and are are enticed by the shelter and food provided at the schools. The recruitment of boys at a young age is one of the reasons they often grow up to join the Taliban, as children are much more impresionable. However, many children are determined to join the Taliban out of resentment, for example because of the destruction of their villages by American forces or the Pakistani government. In this way, the military offensive of the government has been unsuccessful. When they destroyed an entire Pakistani village near the Afghanistan border, they succeeded in killing some 1,500 militants, however the previous 7,000 residents were either killed as well or displaced. The Taliban use such events to hold recruiting rallies, and they continue to grow in numbers. The Taliban create fear in the people of Pakistan, through their suicide attacks and their harsh rule, and in this way gain power. They continue to recruit the "next generation of Taliban fighters" and raise funds to pay for their goal of destroying the Pakistani government.