"The West is in genuine danger of losing Afghanistan" as the Taliban continues to expand its territorial influence," an international think tank said in a report a Canadian envoy dismissed as a tool for Taliban propagandists.
The report by the International Council on Security and Development, formerly known as the Senlis Council, says that the Taliban has a permanent presence in 72 per cent of Afghanistan. Last year that figure was only 54 per cent.
The research group defined "permanent presence" as any territory that is hit by at least one insurgent attack per week.
The report also says that the Taliban has a virtual noose around Kabul, the Afghan capital. It says that three of the four roads leading into city fall are hit regularly by Taliban attacks, and only one road into Kabul is considered safe.
The report says that the 50,000 NATO-ISAF force currently in the country needs to be increased by tens of thousands of troops to counter the situation.
The report blames the U.S. and its allies for allowing the Taliban to have a "renaissance" over the past few years.
"While the international community's prospects in Afghanistan have never been bleaker, the Taliban has been experiencing a renaissance that has gained momentum since 2005," the report claims.
"As seven years of missed opportunity have rolled by, the Taliban has rooted itself across increasing swathes of Afghan territory."
The report goes on to argue that the increased Taliban presence has allowed the group to more effectively employ its political, military, and economic strategies.
"The Taliban are now dictating terms in Afghanistan, both politically and militarily," said the report.
Canada's top diplomat in Afghanistan denied the report, saying it feeds Taliban propaganda.
"On one hand, the report points to the effectiveness of the Taliban propaganda efforts. But I have to say that whenever a Senlis report comes out, it must be a red letter day for the Taliban propaganda machine," Ron Hoffmann, Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, told The Canadian Press from Afghanistan.
"The notion that 72 per cent of the country now has a permanent Taliban presence, I think is just fundamentally inaccurate," Hoffmann added.
In addition to accusing an international think tank of fuelling Taliban propagandists, Hoffmann called the ICOS report's findings "dubious."
An ICOS spokesperson told CTV.ca that the envoy's assertion that his group is fuelling Taliban propaganda is "ludicrous."
Paul Burton, ICOS director of policy, said it's obvious that the Canadian government's representative appears to have gone on a "defensive attack mode."
"It's not in our interest to misrepresent what we find. Our methodology is open ... we haven't got an agenda here," he said.
It's not the first time that the government has used vitriolic language to shoot down criticism of the situation in Afghanistan.
In 2007, the Conservatives accused critics of helping insurgents when they wanted to find out if Canadians were handing captured Taliban fighters to Afghan authorities accused of torturing their prisoners.
Ottawa denied the allegations, first reported by Amnesty International. The Tories also labelled critics -- including Canadian MPs who demanded more information about the abuse allegations -- of helping the Taliban propaganda machine. Some of the prisoner abuse reports were later validated, and Canada temporarily stopped transferring soldiers to Afghan authorities.
"It's obvious that NATO member states want to portray good news stories back to their populations. We see that happening in Britain, and Canada appears to be no exception," Burton said.
He added that demonizing his group doesn't change the facts.
"The situation is very, very dangerous. The average Afghan is frightened for their security. They cannot work or feed their families ... the assertion that we have some strange agenda here is ludicrous," he said.
Scott Taylor, publisher of Esprit de Corps Magazine, told CTV's Canada AM on Monday that the report's figures may not be completely accurate, but they highlight some disturbing trends for Canadian and NATO forces.
"We are devolving in terms of our success there," he said.
Taylor said that additional equipment being sent to the country, such as helicopters, will help Canadian soldiers. But he also noted that insurgent groups have adapted well to fighting better-equipped troops. Taylor said that NATO forces will have to show that they can protect Afghan villagers if they want to win over the population.
"If we can protect them, then they will start to protect us," he said.
CP reported that Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, the commander of Task Force Kandahar, disputed the report's claims. According to CP, he said the Taliban attacks do not suggest that insurgents have control. He said that insurgent groups command no more than 20 per cent of support from the Afghan people.
With files from The Canadian Press
