Taliban Set to Retake Power in Afghanistan

Report: Classified US document says Taliban ready to take power in Afghanistan, backed by Pakistan

Published February 01, 2012 | NewsCore

A highly-classified U.S. report that said the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, is ready to take control in Afghanistan was not an analysis of the military campaign's progress, a NATO spokesman said Wednesday.

The document, leaked to The London Times, "may provide some level of representative sampling of Taliban opinions and ideals but clearly should not be used as any interpretation of campaign progress," Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings told AFP.

The "State of the Taliban" report, compiled by U.S. forces operating out of Afghanistan's Bagram Air Field, suggested that the 10-year Western-led intervention in the country will not stop the Taliban from returning to power.

"Though the Taliban suffered severely in 2011, its strength, motivation, funding and tactical proficiency remains intact," the report said. "Many Afghans are already bracing themselves for an eventual return of the Taliban."