Mills: Taliban financially squeezed

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The Afghan insurgency is down to the "last card in the deck," the commander of NATO's regional command southwest said Thursday.

Increased security and government initiatives to encourage farmers to turn away from poppy crops are drying up the Taliban's cash flow, U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills said Thursday from his headquarters in Afghanistan during a video news conference in Washington.

The disruption of the Taliban's drug and money networks has left them with "less than one-half of what they had last year in operating funds," Mills said.

The Taliban's "last card in the deck is not playing very well, which is simply murder and intimidation," Mills said. "It has not convinced the people. … They are looking at a better way of life."