<p>United Nations data shows that the Taliban&rsquo;s power in Afghanistan has reached the highest point since its regime was overthrown by the US-led invasion in 2001. This is a massive failure for President Obama, who centered his re-election campaign on ending the war by 2014. ;</p>
<p>According to a UN report obtained by the <em>New York Times</em>, more than 50% of Afghanistan is rated as having a &ldquo;substantial, high, or extreme level of risk&hellip;more than at any time since the American invasion ousted the Taliban in 2001.&rdquo;</p>
<p>This announcement followed the evacuation of four UN provincial offices in September 2015 &ndash; the biggest evacuation the UN has ever conducted in response to a security threat. ;</p>
<p>According to the report, nearly ;40 districts among 14 of Afghanistan&rsquo;s 34 provinces are considered to be under &ldquo;extreme&rdquo; threat. In all, 27 of the nation&rsquo;s provinces (nearly 80%) include areas where the threat level is considered &#8220;high&#8221; or &#8220;extreme.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>The Times</em> points out that UN workers are not allowed to travel through regions labeled &ldquo;high&rdquo; or &ldquo;extreme&rdquo; and that &ldquo;extreme&rdquo; areas have little or no government presence. ;</p>
<p>The UN assessment provides a stark contrast to statements made by American commander general John F. Campbell as he spoke to Congress about the situation: ;&ldquo;The Afghan security forces have displayed courage and resilience. They&rsquo;re still holding. The Afghan government retains control of Kabul, of Highway One, its provincial capitals, and nearly all of the district centers.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>But this is not true. Afghan officials note that Highway One, a circular road connecting all the nation&rsquo;s primary cities, regularly suffers ambushes and roadblocks as Taliban insurgents attempt to cut the route. ;</p>
<p>&#8220;The government is failing in their governing, and it&rsquo;s better to let the Taliban rule,&rdquo; said police chief ;Wali Dad while he was trapped with hundreds of other police officers in Oruzgan Province&#8217;s Charchino district as insurgents laid seige to ;the region. ;</p>
<p>Oruzgan Province is one of the most dangerous areas, with the capital region of Tarinkot the only district of five to receive a threat rating less than &#8220;high.&#8221;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We had 570 policemen in Khas Oruzgan District, but now only 75 men remain and all in the district center; the rest have either been killed, surrendered, or escaped,&rdquo; said deputy district governor Abdul Hameed last September. &ldquo;We are still begging for survival, but we get no attention from the central government. If the situation remains the same, the district will fall to the hands of the Taliban.&#8221;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We have had fighting in 13 provinces of Afghanistan over the past six months, simultaneously,&rdquo; said President Ashraf Ghani after the Taliban briefly captured the city of Kunduz last September. ;</p>
<p>The UN security threat rating system is used by many organizations, and aid groups were quick to follow suit with evacuations in northern Afghanistan. ;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s much more difficult to access many areas in the north than before for aid agencies,&rdquo; explained Fiona Gall, director of a local aid organization. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a general degradation. It is very difficult to combat it in this environment.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>President Obama has responded to the growing Taliban threat by keeping more American soldiers in Afghanistan. Over 8,000 troops will remain in the war-torn country as ;Obama leaves office, a significant increase from the 5,500 troops he promised last year. &#8220;The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious,&#8221; he said on July 6th. &#8220;Even as they improve, Afghan security forces are still not as strong as they need to be.&#8221;</p>