U.S. Operations Against Taliban Commanders And Their Leaders Are Having An Impact

ANTENNA SETUP - U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Limon sets up a tactical satellite antenna while on patrol in Zabul province, Afghanistan, June 25, 2010. Limon is assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion 4th Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. William Tremblay

Quest To Neutralize Afghan Militants Is Showing Glimpses Of Success, NATO Says -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — Despite deepening pessimism back home and disarray in the top American military ranks, officials insist that the buildup of soldiers in Afghanistan is beginning to show results: Commando raids over the last four months have taken scores of insurgent leaders out of action, in a secretive operation aimed partly at pressuring the Taliban to reconcile with the Afghan government.

About 130 important insurgent figures have been captured or killed in Afghanistan over the past 120 days, about the time that commanders turned their attention from the fight around Marja to a much more complex campaign around Kandahar, according to NATO military statistics. The targets have included Taliban shadow provincial governors and military commanders, as well as district-level financiers, trainers and bomb makers.

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My Comment: David Ignatius at the Washington Post has more news on the effectiveness of these "decapitation" strikes. As a follow-up to these operations, U.S. forces have now launched major ground operations against Taliban forces in the Kunar region of Afghanistan. For more news on this operation, go here, here, and here.