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| Afghanistan |
| Fight for Bytes begins in Marjah |
| 2010-02-14 |
| Military strategists were puzzled that the enemy was being given so much detail. But the battle launched yesterday is as much for headlines as for territory. “What Marjah is really about is turning around the perception that we're losing,' said an adviser to General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan. Most fighters are thought to have melted away, leaving a few diehards and a lot of improvised explosive devices. Some reports were of as few as 50 Taliban in Marjah. “Nothing in the past eight years of combat supports the notion that the Taliban are suicidal fools,' said John McCreary, a former intelligence analyst for the US joint chiefs of staff. Many in the US intelligence community believe Marjah is about convincing Afghans that the Taliban are not invincible and impressing people back home who are sceptical of what their troops are achieving. “It's an attempt to retake the information war,' said one officer. “This is all a war of perceptions,' said McChrystal earlier this month. “This is not a physical war in terms of how many people you kill ... This is all in the minds of the participants.' The assault follows a series of briefings by McChrystal that Nato forces are “turning the tide' against the Taliban despite little evidence of this. The briefings have provoked concern in Whitehall. One senior official warned Gordon Brown not to be taken in as there could be bloody months ahead. By talking up the importance of Marjah, the US commander hopes to announce a decisive victory, achieved with a display of firepower capable of convincing Taliban foot soldiers to switch sides. He also wants to use it as a showcase for a shift in focus from killing Taliban to protecting civilians and improving governance. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #3 Hanging them is better. Most Taliban can't think of themselves being attacked by their extended family, but they CAN visualize themselves hanging from the end of a rope. Hang them where they can be seen for miles. Let those that are hung stay there for at least a week. This has worked elsewhere before, even in muslim territory. IT will work again. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2010-02-14 14:30 |
| #2 Hogtie them and give them to the local women on a gurney. They will do far worse. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-02-14 01:38 |
| #1 Publicly hang all the Talib who are captured. Let them swing for the buzzards. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2010-02-14 00:18 |