BBC, 24 December 2015
A little christmas present: Amb. Francesc Vendrell, head of the AAN advisory board, interviewed by BBC4’s “Today” programme, on the situation in Helmand. He says that the fall of Sangin is not that “terribly important” from its strategic value; that the Taleban are not winning but also not losing; the best we can hope for is “a kind of chronic instability with neither side winning”. He does not discard Kabul-Taleban talks but adds if such talks seriously start, fighting might even increase as both sides will try to improve their military starting position.
The link leads to the audio; Francesc’s part starts at 1:53:20.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 9 Mar 2020
