Have to quote parts of the text of the AP report to see the full story::
“Taliban moves onto abandoned U.S. base”
“By Elizabeth A. Kennedy – The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Apr 21, 2010 12:44:02 EDT
“KABUL — Taliban fighters swarmed over a mountaintop base abandoned last week by the U.S.military following some of the toughest fighting of the Afghan war, according to footage aired Monday by a major satellite television station.
“The video by Al-Jazeera is a morale booster for Taliban fighters, though the U.S. insists the decision to withdraw from the base in the Korengal Valley was sound and the area has no strategic value.
“The pullout last week of the remaining 120 U.S. soldiers from the Korengal was part of a strategy announced last year by the top U.S. and NATO commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, to abandon small, difficult-to-defend bases in remote, sparsely populated areas and concentrate forces around major population centers.”
Isn’t this what happened in Vietnam with the Westmorland doctrine?
We left the countryside to the VC/NVA and built Roman style Legionnaire cantonments to keep out the barbarians.
Stratfor.com postulates that the exit from Korengal probably reflects increasing cooperation between Washington and Islamabad with some degree of confidence in Pakistani gains in tribal areas across the Afghan border.
Only plausibel explanation?
