August 28, 2006:
The Taliban have been trying to increase the combat capability of their tribal warriors. Some Taliban groups appear to have undergone professional infantry training, and are led by men who also appear to have received training. Several groups of platoon (20-30 men ) and company (50-80) size have been performing to much higher standards than the normal run of 'martyr fodder' that Afghan and Coalition troops have been encountering in Afghanistan.
There have been reports of Taliban training camps in Pakistan. Nothing permanent. These appear to be portable, with trainers and equipment moving around to safe (pro-Taliban) villages, and training young men willing to join the fight. The Taliban is paying good wages, to the more promising warriors, but still allowing many volunteers to tag along and take their chances.
The focus of attacks in recent weeks has been on NATO forces. The Taliban apparently hopes it can kill enough NATO personnel to create problems back home. They haven't been doing very well, even though the Canadians lost eight men in less than a month. But at the same time, Canadian troops killed over a hundred Taliban, and appeared to have no trouble dealing with what they encounter, even the new, improved, Taliban troopers.
The main problems the Taliban have is with Coalition air power, and Afghans willing to rat them out. One reason Coalition units often travel with a dozen or so Afghan soldier or police, is so they have the ability to get tips from villages they pass through, or travelers they encounter.
Air power, especially UAVs, are a another major advantage. Once Taliban are detected in an area, UAVs and manned aircraft are out looking for them. Once found, the Taliban are in big trouble, especially if there is no forest, caves or friendly village to hide in. The Taliban have been developing tactics to deal with the air power, but these usually involves ditching the weapons and dispersing. That temporarily destroys the usefulness of a Taliban group, but it preferable to getting blasted by a smart bomb.
