U.S. airstrike in Kunduz signals a new chapter in Afghanistan
By: Shawn Snow, March 11, 2017 (Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon/Air Force )
When Air Force planes conducted an airstrike that killed Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Salam in Kunduz province Feb. 26, a joint operation with Afghan security forces, it marked the first salvo in a renewed strategy by U.S. forces to remove Taliban commanders from the battlefield.
“Mullah Salam and the Taliban fighters under him murdered and terrorized the people of Kunduz for too long,” said Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. “Salam’s death is an opportunity for change. The people of Afghanistan want peace and the government of Afghanistan is committed to achieving peace through reconciliation. The Taliban know the only path forward is reconciliation."
But, as noted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies's Long War Journal, any talk of reconciliation was quickly countered by a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on the group's website:
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/us-airstrike-afghanistan-taliban
