On November 13, 2009, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban’s shadow government in the country, issued a statement, describing the Western military strategy in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province as "a complete failure."
In the southern Helmand province, where the Taliban are in a strong position, the British troops carried out an offensive, called the Operation Panther’s Claw, while the U.S. marines conducted the Operation Sword. Both operations were launched in July 2009.
The Taliban statement notes that despite the British and U.S. operations, the international troops are not able to deliver logistics supply using land routes and have to often rely on the air-delivery of supplies to various military bases inside the province.
Following is the text of the statement in the original English:[1]
"According to a Tactical Plan, the Mujahideen Retreated from Certain Areas to Encourage the Enemy Forces to Enter These Areas Where They Were Soft Targets for the Mujahideen"
"This year, Helmand, a province in southern Afghanistan, became target of gruesome attacks of the British and American invaders. American troops sent to Afghanistan as per the Obama administration’s new strategy were deployed in this province, as an effort by the American rulers to bolster the sagging morale of the despondent British soldiers there.
"Before launching the offensive against the Mujahideen in the Helmand province, the American media started their own media war. They called the operation, the largest military operation ever launched by the U.S. marines after the Vietnam War, and claimed that it would wipe out all...
