American special forces engaged in combat in Afghanistan
The NY Times reports that US special forces have been secretly engaged in combat for the last few months. They are now in the southwestern province of Helmand. Afghan forces are said to be dispirited from corruption and constant fighting. Several years ago I argued that most of the south would be lost to the Taliban and that effort should be concentrated in the north.
Further internal conflict in Kurdistan
Kurdistan is fighting ISIL, Shia militias, Kurdish Shias, and now the Kurdish Change Movement, which is opposed to the power grab by President Bargain and also by Shia militias. This calls into question Kurdistan’s viability as an independent state.
Four Nations ink agreement to build TAPI pipeline
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Turkmenistan have agreed on the construction of a pipeline to transport Turkmenistan gas to South Asia. Nice idea but the proposed pipeline passes through western Afghanistan which is simply too unstable.