The Taliban recently overran a city in north Afghanistan. The insurgency now controls most of the southern town of Sangin, a key district in the opium-growing hills of Helmand Province. The UK deployed 30 advisors, actually SAS special forces, sent to help the US back up a beleaguered Afghan army. The deployment to Helmand comes after the suicide attack that killed six US servicemen. A push by the Taliban ahead of Pakistan-brokered talks? How high a priority is Afghanistan for the West?
