Tag Archives: Taliban

U.S. Marines video: How not to win hearts and minds

Marines

The actions of four U.S. Marines caught on video laughing and urinating on Afghan bodies have been condemned by the United States, NATO, and the government of Afghanistan. Globe and Mail correspondent Paul Koring examines the potential consequences of the scandal (“Obama’s ‘hearts and minds’ effort hurt by surfacing of ‘deplorable’ video,” Globe and Mail, […]

Success of Afghanistan kill/capture raids exaggerated?

A recent report argues that the success of the NATO-led International Stability Assistance Force’s (ISAF) targeted night raids (or kill/capture raids), which have been a major tactic of ISAF’s in recent years, may have been played up so as to make the Afghan mission appear more successful.  The report, written by Alex Strick van Linschoten […]

Taliban numbers intact despite surge in Allied forces

A recent Washington Post article suggests that the Taliban has endured the recent offensive by NATO and U.S. forces with its numerical strength intact (Slobodan Lekic, “Taliban Strength Unaffected by Allied Surge,” Washington Post, 6 January 2011). “A NATO official said this week that the alliance estimates current number of insurgent fighters at up to […]