Mye tyder på at vi vil få høre mye om Afghanistan neste år, og nyhetene blir ikke av det gode slaget. Seks amerikanere ble drept av en selvmordsbomber på motorsykkel mandag da de var ute på patrulje nær Bagram-basen nord for Kabul.

Det er det dødeligste angrepet amerikanerne har lidd så langt i år. Før angrepet sto tapstallet på 15 amerikanere. Offisielt skal amerikanerne være instruktører og mentorer, men i takt med Talibans angrep blir de trukket inn i kampene, i første linje.

Before the attack on Monday, 21 members of the coalition forces had been killed in Afghanistan this year, with 15 of them Americans, according to the website iCasualties. Most of the deaths were said to be caused by aircraft crashes or indirect fire.

In recent months, however, American Special Operations forces have been drawn back onto the battlefield as Afghan forces have struggled against insurgent offensives that are threatening important population centers. United States military assistance from the air as well as on the ground was considered a crucial factor in the Afghan forces’ taking back Kunduz, the first city to briefly fall to the Taliban in 14 years.

Now, as the Taliban make a major push in southern Helmand Province, overrunning districts and knocking at the gates of the provincial capital, Laskar Gah, American Special Forces have been reported on the ground again to try to keep the province from fully falling to the insurgents.

Local officials in Helmand on Monday pleaded with the national government for reinforcements, saying the district of Sangin remained largely under Taliban control after insurgents overran it on Sunday after several days of intense fighting and heavy casualties.

“Last night, NATO forces targeted two locations in Sangin, but it has not affected the Taliban momentum, and heavy fighting still continues,” said Mohammad Karim Attal, head of the provincial council in Helmand.

Barack Obama ombestemte seg og lot 9800 soldater bli igjen, i det minste ut 2016. Skal USA la Afghanistan falle? Hvor mye synes USA at Afghanistan er verdt?

Hvis USA skal gjøre noe med Taliban må det rette blikket mot Pakistan. Det er der ledelsen sitter.

Mr. Attal said the Taliban leadership, based across the border in Pakistan, had decided six months ago to seize Helmand and base more of the insurgent command in the province.

USA må handle nå, hvis det lar utviklingen gå for langt vil situasjonen bli uopprettelig.

“If the central government does not pay attention to the security situation in Helmand, the province will eventually fall,” Mr. Attal said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/world/asia/bagram-afghanistan-suicide-attack.html?_r=0