Taliban use technology to show whos boss

The question is whether the Taliban need to hold territory as they once did to influence the population. Increasingly,it seems,the answer is no.

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Punctually,at 8 PM everyday,cellphone signals disappear in this provincial capital. Under pressure from the Taliban,major carriers turn off their signal towers,effectively severing most of the connections to the rest of the world.

This now occurs in some portion of more than half Afghan provinces,and exemplifies the Talibans new and more subtle ways of asserting themselves,even as NATO generals portray the insurgents as a diminished force less able to hold ground. The question is whether the Taliban need to hold territory as they once did to influence the population. Increasingly,it seems,the answer is no.

Tactics like the cellphone offensive have allowed the Taliban to project their presence in far more insidious and sophisticated ways,using the instruments of modernity that they once shunned. The shutoff sends a daily reminder to hundreds of thousands,if not millions,of Afghans that the Taliban still hold substantial sway over their future.

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It is just one part of a broader shift in Taliban strategy that has focussed on intimidation,carefully chosen assassinations and limited but spectacular assaults. While often avoiding large-scale combat with NATO forces,the Taliban and their allies in the Haqqani network have undermined peace talks with the Afghan government and sought to pave the way for a gradual return to power as the US-led forces begin scaling back military operations.

Assaults like the rocket attack on the American Embassy in Kabul on September 13 effectively shift the fight to cities,where it is harder for NATO to respond with air power for fear of harming civilians. They also allow the Taliban to capture the airwaves for hours,especially in media-saturated cities,and fuel an aura of crisis.

Likewise,the assassination on September 20 in Kabul of Burhanuddin Rabbani,the head of Afghanistans peace council,dominated the news and reopened dangerous fissures between the countrys Dari-speaking north and the Pashtun south,in a single calculated blow. The new Taliban do not aspire to kill a lot of people,it seems,just a few in the right places and in positions of power.

Interviews with dozens of Afghans suggest that throughout the country the Taliban have married locally tailored terrorist campaigns with new flexibility on issues like education and business development. The combination plays on the uncertainty gnawing at Afghans about the looming American withdrawal,while making the most of the insurgencys limited resources. The aim is to undermine the Afghan government by making people question whether it can protect them,while trying to project the image of a group that is more open to the world than when the Taliban ruled the country in the 1990s.ALISSA J RUBIN