guardian.co.uk,
Within the last month a high profile Pakistan terrorist came out on a video stating he was within the reach of the government so he doesn't know why the USA has him listed as "Most Wanted." Now in Afghanistan a Taliban Commander thought he was facing the same fate. His "Wanted" poster invited him to attempt to collect the $100 reward for coming forward.
Now, today we are seeing USA military photos and once again our troops are involved in scandal posing for photos in morbid rituals of treating corpus like a trophy. These events were in 2010. I have to wonder if this isn't some kind of cultural practice within the troops for morale purposes and/or to cause an impact on the psyche of the enemy or is this some kind of mindless idea of fun?
It will not build a better Afghanistan or improve the image of the troops or American presence. It is simply time to bring the troops home and out of Afghanistan.
In South Vietnam their government failed to serve the people in a meaningful way. Our troops became demoralized by the lack a cohesive vision of the future for the people they were fighting for. Afghanistan is reminding me more and more of the South Vietnamese government as it lost the confidence of the people and ultimately the troops.
I hope secretary Panetta is correct and this was all done in very bad taste. Two years ago is a significant time span, but, if this is the culture of the NATO military today, then we need to simply leave. The troops may be more discouraged and finding rewards that are inappropriate and not found in the reality of citizens they are suppose to protect while establishing a peaceful democracy.
Taliban commander turns self in... for reward on ‘Wanted’ poster (click here)
Sometimes, capturing a Taliban commander requires vast resources and complex operations. Last week in eastern Afghanistan, it required neither.
Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban commander in Paktika province, strolled toward a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza with a wanted poster bearing his own face. He demanded the finder’s fee referenced on the poster: $100.Afghan officials, perplexed by the man’s misguided motives, arrested him on the spot. Ashan is suspected of plotting at least two attacks on Afghan security forces. His misdeeds prompted officials to plaster the district with hundreds of so-called “Be on the Lookout” posters emblazoned with his name and likeness.
When U.S. troops went to confirm that Ashan had in fact come forward to claim the finder’s fee, they were initially incredulous....
Propaganda is propaganda from both sides of the war. The troops may have their own, too.
In eerie comeback, Taliban return to airwaves (click here)
ISLAMABAD:
After relative peace since 2009, the Taliban are back in Swat Valley – at least on the airwaves.
Almost three years after battle-hardened militants loyal to Maulvi Fazlullah or ‘Mullah Radio’ were flushed out of the region in a military operation, it appears they are now trying to gain a foothold once again by re-establishing FM broadcasts.
The broadcasts had earlier been used as a propaganda tool to galvanise public support through a mixture of terror and persuasion.
“The same voices we used to hear four years ago when the Taliban started their campaign are echoing in the valleys again … it’s scary,” said a local resident from the Matta subdivision of Swat, who runs a small business in Mingora.
Matta was one of the towns where militants first established their bases and remained in control till they were chased out of the region by the army in 2009.
The Taliban insurgency in the valley, like in the neighbouring Mohmand and Bajaur tribal regions, began with several FM broadcasts....
