After weeks of hyping the US-led forces have launched an invasion of the “key” Kandahar Province village of Khari. The invasion marks the sixth time the village, called the “birthplace of the Taliban” has been invaded since the 2001 occupation began.

And so far officials say that 4,800+ troops have met little resistance and it remains to be seen if the Taliban even intend to contest control over the tiny farming district, or if they intend to just wait for the troops to leave, as they have so many times in the past.

The Zhari district includes the village in which, in 1994, Mullah Omar founded the Taliban. Officials have concluded from this that the site must have some sort of historical signfiicance for the insurgency.

But this seems to ignore the obvious, that NATO troops keep occupying this village and each time there is very little fuss over it. The Taliban’s insurgency seems very pragmatic about such attacks, abandoning the little villages that NATO assumes are going to be of great importance for the simple reason that NATO simply cannot occupy every small village and town across the entire nation. The insurgency just moves on, and comes back when the occupation leaves.

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