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The Taliban in Afghanistan...Still Relevant

Afghan security forces and Afghan militia members on a road in Ghazni Province during clashes between Taliban militants and Afghan security forces on Sunday.
Image Source - Mohammad Anwar Danishyar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Today's first set of links centers on Ghazni Province. The Taliban demonstrates that American and Afghan narratives of progress in the peace process aren't as solid as those governments would like. There are also significant numbers of foreign fighters still joining up with the Taliban. Ghazni lies in a position of strategic control over the central highway, controlling both approaches to the capitol Kabul, and to the south of the country.

Finally, the Taliban's staying power may be in part due to it's ability to control the cultural image of one of Afghanistan's longest traditions, the image of the honorable warrior...

the Taliban were systematically identifying, locating, and co-opting (or assassinating) the local moral authorities (such as Mullahs, Khans, Imams, and Arbabs) in even the remotest, meanest villages and qalats of Afghanistan, swiftly replacing them with their own version of "post-tribal" moral authority

Ghariat was a core foundation of Pashtunwali, the tribal code of the majority of Afghans before Taliban control. Ghariat defined honorable courage...and the Taliban was able to redefine that code in it's own image for a large percentage of today's military-aged men.

Afghanistan, Pakistan at Odds Over Ghazni Assault Claims

Why the Taliban’s Assault on Ghazni Matters

The Taliban's Weaponization of Moral Authority in Afghanistan - Part 1 of 3

Techno-War

Sounds like it needs a driving beat and weirdly flashing lights, don't it.

Unfortunately, technology makes war more efficient.

That would be a good thing if only your team used the new technology, and adapted it's organizations around that use. An article in the Naval Academy's Proceedings Magazine goes over the implications of using AI for military purposes, including the damage it could wreak on privacy, the increased power that rich counties(no matter how small they may be) could acquire, and even the possibility that AI tech could reduce civilian casualties.

Of course, the use of technology must be monitored for inefficiency (cough cough..and corruption) in any military organization, so it is subject to the same human organizational failings as any other military asset.

Finally, just because YOU have technology does not mean your enemy cannot find ways to use it too, no matter how decentralized they are. For example, Al Qaeda's use of the internet shows that the human factor applies to the use of technology in areas other than organization. In this case, the use of social media becomes a technology driven battlefield as well(cough, cough...informationwar, anyone?). But the internet is far more open as a battleground than just social media and propaganda. Indeed, the internet provides an attack approach for several targets, including the financial and energy sectors.

AI Will Change the Balance of Power

Pentagon Should Judge Contractors on Cybersecurity

The Role Al Qaeda Plays in Cyberterrorism

Origins of Our Returned Fallen?

Remains From North Korea Likely Soldiers From Chosin Reservoir

RETREAT HELL, WE'RE ATTACKING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION!
Col. "Chesty" Puller, USMC, Chosin Reservoir

@warfeed is compiled by @stevescoins

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