Taliban time out?

Helmand Province, AfghanistanImage by The U.S. Army via Flickr
Newsweek:

...

The commanders informed Zakir that they and their men were temporarily suspending combat operations and asked that he either transfer them to less hotly contested areas or let them recover in Pakistan until the spring thaw. “We have lost many friends and commanders,” one member of the delegation told Zakir, says Mullah Salam Khan, a midlevel commander in Helmand province who was briefed on the meeting by a participant. “We are tired and want to take a rest.” Zakir, says Khan, acknowledged their complaint—but said he needed the commanders to help him keep up at least a harassing presence in their areas so villagers could see that the insurgents are not on the run. They promised to do what they could.

Senior NATO officers have said that Coalition forces have killed or captured more than 350 Taliban commanders and killed at least 1,000 fighters in the past three months....
The decapitation str9ikes are have an effect on the enemy's ability to operate. The timeout may also effect Obama's withdrawal date if the Taliban return to the battlefield.
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