I would not call it strategic significance, but it definitively has a significant local significance in terms of the fight in southern Afghanistan. Army Gen. John Nicholson More Quotes by Army Gen. John Nicholson More Quotes From Army Gen. John Nicholson Helmand has been the financial engine of the insurgency. The Taliban draws 60 percent of their revenue from narcotics (and) criminal activity. Army Gen. John Nicholson world The Afghan guards immediately recognized these as old uniforms, called on the terrorists to exit the vehicle so they could be checked out, and at that point the fighting started. Army Gen. John Nicholson world It’s occurring at multiple levels. So you see mid-level, senior-level Taliban leaders engaging with Afghans. Army Gen. John Nicholson world
