Afghan war just beginning; 2007 was year that Taliban seriously re-engaged.

KABUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The war in Afghanistan is only just beginning as NATO forces, far from pursuing remnants of a defeated Taliban, are entering a widening and deepening conflict they may well lose security NGO said on Saturday.

Taliban insurgents, fighting to overthrow the pro-Western Afghan government and eject foreign forces, carried out more attacks over a wider area in 2007, the Afghanistan NGO Security Office (ANSO) said in its report for last year, and the best case scenario for this year, is "more of the same".

"A few years from now, 2007 will likely be looked back upon as the year in which the Taliban seriously rejoined the fight," said ANSO, which monitors security for the dozens of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in Afghanistan.

U.S.-led and Afghan forces ousted the Taliban from power in late 2001 after the conservative Islamist movement refused to hand over al Qaeda leaders behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

But, "with the Taliban resurgent, it has become obvious that their easy departure in 2001 was more of a strategic retreat than an actual military defeat," the report said.

"In simple terms, the consensus among informed individuals at the end of 2007 seems to be that Afghanistan is at the beginning of a war, not the end of one," it said.

more at link: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSISL216061


Afghanistan used to be the war we were winning. With an escalation under way, it is just beginning.

Even Alexander the Great had a stab at them.