According to a report by Der Spiegel, US special forces have dramatically escalated the number of drone strikes and nighttime raids across Afghanistan over the past three months, and they claim to have killed at least 365 top Taliban commanders as a result.
Most of the targeting, according to the reports, took place in southern Afghanistan, and despite the claims of “progress” with the killings pointed to as an example that region remains the deadliest in Afghanistan. But the gaudy death toll, and a similar claim that nearly 1,400 “suspects” were also captured must certainly raise a few eyebrows.
This is particularly true given the number of raids in which the “insurgents” reported killed turn out to be civilians, and spark massive anti-US protests in the region.
Indeed while the inner workings of the Taliban’s insurgency are not well known it seems difficult to fathom that the Taliban would have many more “top commanders” than this to begin with, particularly given the US estimates that the Taliban only has 25,000 “full time” fighters.
Which leaves open-ended the question of whether the US has dramatically underestimated the size of the Taliban, is dramatically over-stating the number of “top commanders” killed, or some combination of the two. At any rate, the three months of attacks have not improved the situation, so it is difficult to praise this as any great accomplishment.
All lies. The only thing for sure about "US progress" in Afghanistan is that the US military lies. We are losing this war tactically , militarily, and politically. It is a disaster of epic proportions and totally hidden by the major media.
I agree – totally.
Lies – all lies – damnable lies.
The Soviet Union made similar claims up to the day they were forced to withdraw.
Or like Japan in the last months of WWII. Their press was filled with outlandish stories of "great victories" over the US. One headline claimed the sinking 10 US battleships and 15 US Carriers in a single naval battle.
And much like today the propaganda backfired when people began to ask how an enemy could take such losses and keep on fighting.
In order to have 365 TOP COMMANDERS you have to have hundreds of thousands of soldiers. This article is so full of it I did not go past the headline.
This is THE most fatuously stupid comment ever made. If any movement (or corporation) lost 365 of its "top" officers in three months it would cease to exist. How can anyone think someone would believe this utter nonsense. They might as well just say the 365 Taliban commanders were kidnapped by aliens.
read the article, nitwit! dido to james.
That a lot of them. How could that happen?
Jane