NATO has significantly changed its military strategy in Southern Afghanistan since the alliance-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) deployed into the region in 2006. Dutch Major General Mart de Kruif told Radio Netherlands that rather than massive offensives against the Taliban, as was the case in the early days, ISAF now plans major operations that include strong elements of local governance and reconstruction.

Talking about the Taliban,  the Dutch general claimed that “now, the Taliban reacts to what we do, not the other way around”. He described the movement as being in a phase of uncertainty, and said that internal tensions had been noted in the movement’s leadership, the majority of which is based in Quetta, Pakistan.

However, he added that the Taliban movement, in a military sense, is not centrally controlled and led. “If the Quetta Shura of the Taliban were to disappear tomorrow, that would not mean the end of the Taliban”. But Major General De Kruif warned that violence may continue, as ISAF moves into Taliban-held regions and the insurgents increasingly use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and intimidation of the local population as military tools. Still, looking back, the general says ISAF has made a ‘major step forwards’ in the past twelve months.

Listen to the interview here.