The New York Times

Updated April 27, 2011 04:10 PM

The Taliban Jailbreak and Afghanistan's Future

Introduction

Taliban prison breakAllauddin Khan/Associated Press Nearly 500 Taliban escaped through this tunnel at the main Kandahar prison.

In an audacious move, nearly 500 Taliban fighters broke out of the largest prison in southern Afghanistan, escaping through a long tunnel that was dug from outside the prison. In June 2008, the Taliban attacked the same prison in Kandahar, freeing 1,200 prisoners, including 350 Taliban.

A Taliban spokesman was ready with a statement on Monday: “We have planned and worked on this for five months, and the tunnel is 360 meters long,” he said. “This was very important for us; we were trying to not leave anyone behind, not even one sick or old political prisoner.” The return of the fighters was seen as a serious setback for NATO and the Karzai government.

What does this security failure say about the ability of Afghan forces to take charge in seven areas around the country this summer, as announced by President Hamid Karzai in March?

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