WASHINGTON — The Taliban has regrouped after its initial fall from power in Afghanistan and the pace of its attacks is likely to increase this year, according to a Pentagon report that offers a dim view of progress in the nearly 7-year-old war.
Noting that violence has climbed, the report said that despite U.S. and coalition efforts to capture or kill key leaders, the Taliban is likely to “maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008.”
The Taliban, it said, has “coalesced into a resilient insurgency.”
At the same time, the Afghan army and national police are progressing slowly and still lack the trainers they need.
The report was released Friday along with a separate plan for the development of Afghan security forces.
Vast problems — corruption, the illegal poppy trade, human-rights abuses and slow progress in reconstruction — were detailed, as well as the struggle to train and equip the Afghan army and police.
