NATO commander says Taliban tactics vary

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A top NATO commander in Afghanistan says counterinsurgency strategy collaboration is crucial to match the varying Taliban tactics and terrain in the country.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of NATO's Regional Command-East, says that counterinsurgency tactics require different strategies for each region of Afghanistan and that he is in constant contact with U.S. commanders, the American Forces Press Service reported.

"It's a different fight and a different type of challenge in each different area," Rodriguez said in a statement. "Each force is in there, whether it be east, northwest, south or the capital. It's a different type of terrain; it's a different type of tribal infrastructure, a different type of leadership in the Afghan government."

Rodriguez was addressing concerns that U.S. forces are handling the militant insurgency in Afghanistan better that NATO. He says that what works in one region may not work in another and that the differences have an impact on the strategy.

"We're in touch with them all the time," Rodriguez said. "We coordinate with them. We share lessons learned and work with them very carefully, closely, to share anything we have. All the lessons don't translate one-to-one, but we all talk about the principles and those things."

Rodriguez says security, governance and development in the region of his command has seen a 30 percent to 40 percent improvement.