The new offensive against the Taliban remnants in Afghanistan, Operation Medusa, has dealt a severe blow to the forces of Mullah Omar. Over 200 Taliban fighters have died in the fighting, while NATO has only suffered four combat deaths:

More than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed in a major Nato offensive in southern Afghanistan, along with four Canadian troops.

Operation Medusa, launched by alliance and Afghan forces in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, involved hundreds of troops, backed by warplanes and helicopter gunships.

A Nato spokesman said: "Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation Medusa began early on Saturday morning."

He added that Afghan soldiers had captured more than 80 other Taliban.

The Canadians have fought with tremendous courage and energy in this NATO effort. The attempted revival of the Taliban has necessitated such efforts, five years after their loss of Afghanistan in the American-led response to 9/11. Omar and his followers have built up their resources an an attempt to push NATO out of the region and seize power from the elected assembly, but thus far have nothing to show from their latest strategies.

Afghanistan's situation is more fragile than the Iraqis, but for some reason gets much less attention. The Iraqi government has built a formidable security force that will, with seasoning, control all corners of Iraq, assuming that the Americans don't lose their composure and bug out. They have already taken over one province and allowed the Coalition to completely withdraw, and are about to add another. By contrast, the Afghanistan government really only controls Kabul and parts of Kandahar, and have to rely on tribal connections to keep the rest of the country from spiralling out of Hamid Karzai's orbit.

We had better start paying more attention to Afghanistan if we want it to stabilize. That would put a great deal more pressure on Iran and distract them from their mischief in Iraq, if Karzai could gain control of the whole nation. With Iran practically begging for confrontation from the West, the Afghanistan frontier becomes that much more strategic for the West, and we need to ensure that it remains friendly.

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