civilian deaths under the new Taliban regime are going to be much higher in the comming years with the defeat of the Pak army/police. Although it seems Pak army has hired "Baghdad Bob" to report on actions in the badlands;
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/28/2504132.htm?section=justinDo you support the Taliban laying down the law in both countries ?
They are a backwards people without a doubt and may belong to the dark ages they yearn for.
Afterall,
it seems Mihael Vick would be welcomed in the sports world of that region;
A new UN report accuses Taliban insurgents for more than half of the 2,118 civilian casualties in the last year. Meanwhile, a US-based human rights group has said that Afghans are losing confidence in international coalition forces Kabul: The number of civilians killed in Afghanistan's worsening conflict jumped 40% to a new high last year, and more than half of the deaths were inflicted by Taliban insurgents and other militants, the United Nations said last week.The report said insurgents increasingly use roadside bombs, car bombs and suicide bombers in attacks that are "undertaken regardless of the impact on civilians."
Two of the worst civilian tolls from insurgent attacks came in a February suicide bombing at a dog fight in Kandahar that the UN said killed 67 civilians and a car bombing at the Indian Embassy last July that killed 55 civilians.Commanders of US and other international troops in Afghanistan have long sought to emphasise how militant attacks kill far more civilians than the soldiers or officials targeted.
The UN said a record 2,118 civilians died from violence last year, up from 1,523 the previous year.
Its report blamed insurgent attacks for 55% of the deaths – 1,160, compared to 700 in 2007. It said US, NATO and Afghan government forces accounted for 39% of those killed – 828, compared to 629 in 2007.
......
http://southasia.oneworld.net/todaysheadlines/un-concerned-over-civilian-deaths-in-afghanistan Obama has made a decision to stand and fight it out in Afghaistan. You can curse him for that decision or wish the CNC luck and God speed because,
a lot of civilian human shields will be in his path while the media stringers in the field will be far and few in reporting details.
"If it bleeds,it leads" they say
Top Afghanistan minister estimates Taliban force at between 10,000 and 15,000 fightersBy ANNE GEARAN | AP Military Writer
3:32 PM CST, February 27, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — Afghanistan's interior minister says there may be between 10,000 and 15,000 Taliban fighting inside his country, and the insurgent group is operating across about 17 provinces. Mohammad Hanif Atmar offered a rare estimate of the size of his government's most organized and potent opponent during a visit to Washington. A large delegation of senior Afghan officials was in the U.S. capital this week, along with a delegation from Pakistan.
Both groups were weighing in as the new Obama administration forms a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and a related policy for Pakistan. Afghan officials say they told their hosts that a new strategy must include better cooperation from Pakistan, where Taliban and other militants have command operations.
Afghan and Pakistani officials met separately this week, as well as in three-way sessions with U.S. hosts. President Barack Obama has named a new envoy to manage an overhaul of U.S. policy toward a region Obama calls the real central front against terrorism.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-us-afghanistan-taliban,0,4321234.story Seems the media will extend the honeymoon in the ner term while
imo
the Afghan war is about to morph into something few are ready to accept.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/msid-4208959,prtpage-1.cmsThen again, they could turn over some of bin Ladens DNA and this will all change 180 degrees