Press release: Taliban entrenched in southern Afghanistan and running parallel governments
LONDON – With the Taliban entrenched in the south and running parallel governments in several districts, the Afghan state has reached a decision point, The Senlis Council said on Wednesday. According to the Council’s latest research, NATO’s failure to address Afghanistan’s security situation has made aspirations to hold Presidential elections in 2009 wholly unrealistic.
“The international community’s significant investment in President Karzai and his government will prove barren if it does not move quickly to stabilise the south and Karzai’s political support base,” said The Senlis Council’s President and Lead Field Researcher, Norine MacDonald QC. “If the current security situation in Afghanistan does not improve dramatically, it will be impossible to hold the next presidential election, which would be tantamount to conceding control of Southern Afghanistan to the Taliban.”
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