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December 17, 2003

The American strategy of keeping most troops in well defended bases, and sending out only the best trained combat soldiers, is based on the Russian experience during the 1980s. While the Russians lost their war with the Afghans, they did develop some tactics that worked, and these are the ones being used by American forces. The Taliban have not been able to deal with American Special Forces and infantry, who are the equivalent of the Russian Spetznaz commandos and airmobile troops of the 1980s. But until local governments (tribes and town leaders) can be freed from Taliban terrorism in the south and east, there will be no peace in the area.