Afstan: Dexter or sinister?

Further to the first part of this post, a couple of interesting observations by Bruce Rolston (more here) at his blog:

They probably will. Unless they don't.

From the New York Times' Dexter Filkins, an incomprehensible paragraph:

"Like the guerrillas they are, Taliban fighters often fade away when confronted by a conventional army. But in Afghanistan, as they did in Zangabad, the Taliban will probably stand and fight."

Um... what?

"But the prospect of heavy fighting in populated areas could further alienate the Afghan population. In the firefight in Zangabad, the Americans covered their exit with a barrage of 20 155 millimeter high-explosive artillery shells — necessary to shield them from the Taliban, but also enough to inflict serious damage on people and property. A local Afghan interviewed by telephone after the firefight said that four homes had been damaged by the artillery strikes."

For the record, those would have been Canadian shells, given the location.

(Hat tip: The Torch.)

The American soldiers would be from the 2-2 Ramrods of the CF's Task Force Kandahar.