Taliban announce retreat

CNN:

A spokesman for Pakistan's Taliban claims the militants are making a tactical withdrawal from their stronghold of South Waziristan, in response to a two-and-a-half week long Pakistani military offensive.

The purpose of the move is to conserve resources and to wait out the military's advance until the cold weather sets in by January, said Azam Tariq, a Taliban spokesman, in a phone call with CNN.

Then, Tariq added, the Taliban will launch a guerrilla war against the Pakistani army in areas far beyond South Waziristan.

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The Taliban will have to set up new bases from which to launch attacks and they will be vulnerable there too. It is not surprising that they are leaving. They did not have the resources to withstand the pressure the army is putting on their current base of operation. In leaving they are also leaving behind intelligence that will help the military and the US fight them.