"These attacks are the beginning of the spring offensive and we had planned them for months," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters.
It was planned for months? Must be big, huh? The Taliban hit in Kabul and some other places around the country.
The results?
The Ministry of Interior said 19 insurgents, including suicide bombers, died in the encounters across the country and two were captured. Fourteen police officers and nine civilians were wounded.
Across an entire country of 30 million people, or so, after months of planning, that was it.
Afghanistan barely felt it. I hate to be rude, but if the Taliban have to tell us it was a spring offensive--it wasn't.
Just a spring media offensive to get the press to talk about the "resurgent" Taliban.
UPDATE: This was a media offensive despite Karzai's blaming of NATO for the breach of security around Kabul. Note the targets:
Insurgents were killed attacking the Afghan parliament, and in a multi-storey building under construction that they had occupied to fire rocket-propelled grenades and rifles down on the heavily fortified diplomatic enclave.
Parliament and the diplomatic enclave, including the German and British embassies, were hit to ensure press coverage abroad.
And the spring offensive?
... 36 insurgents were killed in the attacks which paralyzed Kabul's government district, and which targeted three other provinces in what the Taliban called the start of a spring offensive. One fighter was captured.
Eleven members of the Afghan security forces and four civilians were killed in the well-planned attacks in Kabul and the eastern Nangarhar, Logar and Paktia provinces, it said.
"In only a short time we managed to cut short their devilish plans," said Defense Ministry Chief of Operations Afzal Aman. "They carried suicide vests, but managed to do nothing except be killed."
An offensive? Get real. This was a spasm. They ran around and in the end, they just managed to get killed.
I don't understand why this is damaging to President Obama. The idea that we are only winning if the enemy can't attack at all is just silly. The enemy wants to win and they are playing poor cards as best they can. But if we don't try to win--or even want to win--they'll win by default, in the end.
Just calm down and work the problem. The enemy had to come out to do this offensive. Track them down and kill or capture them before they can go to ground again.
UPDATE: Max Boot isn't that impressed with the offensive, either. This is no reason to lose the war--just an excuse for those who have long wanted to run.
