Pentagon Admits Taliban Control Half of Afghan District Centers

WASHINGTON - Estimates showing the Taliban rapidly taking control of territory across Afghanistan are not an illusion, according to the United States' top-ranking military official, who admits the coming months will be a "test of will and leadership" for the Afghan government.   General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday about 212 of Afghanistan's district centers — about half — are currently in Taliban hands, and that Taliban forces are advancing on the outskirts of 17 of the country's 34 provincial capitals.   "Strategic momentum sort of appears to be sort of with the Taliban," Milley told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon.      "What they're trying to do is isolate the major population centers," he added. "They're trying to do the same thing to Kabul, and roughly speaking … a significant amount of territory has been seized."   The admission comes two and a half months after the U.S. and its allies began pulling their last remaining combat forces from Afghanistan, and despite assurances from top U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, that a Taliban takeover is "highly unlikely." #Afghanistan - "Warfare is not just about numbers" per @thejointstaff's Gen Milley, asked about appearances of a #Taliban victoryAdmits about half of the districts are in Taliban hands"This is going to be a test of will and leadership" he says of #Afghan's gvt

But independent trackers, such as one compiled by the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Long War Journal, have raised concerns, noting that the Taliban have nearly tripled the number of districts under their control since the withdrawal officially began on May 1.   A number of intelligence agencies have likewise sounded alarms, warning in a United Nations report last month that the Taliban were preparing to take by force what they could not get through negotiations. The report further warned that top Taliban deputies continue to "favor a military solution."