Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says the insider attacks on NATO troops in Afghanistan are a “last gasp” by a dying Taliban, but LIGNET disagrees. The attacks, rather, are a sign of the Taliban’s resilience and will set back NATO efforts to build an effective Afghan military capable of assuming responsibility for domestic security when the United States withdraws in 2014. With no effective security force in place, Afghanistan will quickly crumble, and the tribal warfare that was the norm before the U.S.-led war will resume.
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