Broadcast Brian

The Taliban are miring up U.S. attempts to provide air support to ground troops by waging a propaganda campaign about civilian casualties.  Tactical directives that US forces issued to troops in reaction to that strategic mis-statement of fact (actually, civilian deaths have been decreasing steadily) have had the effect of increasing mortality amongst US combatants.  This according to a report in today’s New York Times.  The initial reaction seems to be that this is a strategic victory for the Taliban.  What it seems to me like is an opportunity to win the intelligence war.  If people on the ground can be shown, via countervailing propaganda, that the taliban are the one’s keeping them in harm’s way, then perhaps better and more timely intelligence can be gathered - allowing for better use of air power, not to mention more plum assignments for the ground forces on this bug hunt.