Mullah Omar asks 'invaders' to study Afghan history

The Taliban's reclusive leader said in a Muslim holiday message yesterday that the US and Nato should study Afghanistan's long history of war, in a pointed reminder that foreign forces have had limited military success in the country.
The message from Mullah Omar comes less than a month before the eighth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban for hosting al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. This year has been the deadliest of the conflict for US and Nato troops, and political support at home for the war is declining.
Taliban attacks have spiked around Afghanistan in the last three years, and the militants now control wide swaths of territory. In his message for the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr, which ends the fasting month of Ramadan, Omar said the US and Nato should study the history of Alexander the Great, whose forces were defeated by Pashtun tribesmen in the 4th century.
"We would like to point out that we fought against the British invaders for 80 years from 1839 to 1919 and ultimately got independence by defeating" Britain, a statement attributed to Omar said.
"Today we have strong determination, military training and effective weapons. Still more, we have preparedness for a long war and the regional situation is in our favor. Therefore, we will continue to wage jihad until we gain independence and force the invaders to pull out," it said. The statement's authenticity could not be verified but it was posted on a Web site the Taliban frequently uses.