Prison break showed Taliban strength

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A June prison break that freed 900 prisoners has pointed out the renewed strength of Taliban forces and the weakness of the Afghan government, observers say.

An inability to secure the southern city of Kandahar adequately has been felt across the country and made the task of NATO forces, which have already suffered more deaths in 2008 than at any time since 2001, more difficult, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The government of President Hamid Karzai is so weak that the Taliban could have seized control of Kandahar on the night of the prison break, one Western diplomat in Kabul reportedly said. They did not expect the government and the NATO reaction to be so weak, he said.

Many Afghans also are reportedly losing confidence.

"We don't have a system here, the government does not have a solution," said Abdul Aleem, who fought the Taliban and now faces death threats.

Nevertheless he still backs the presence of international forces in Kandahar, saying that without them Afghanistan's situation would be even worse.

"If we did not have foreigners here, I don't think the Afghan National Army or police would come out of their bases," he said.