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U.S. military to stop releasing militant death tolls in Afghanistan
Kabul, Afghanistan -- Military officials in Afghanistan have ordered a halt to the practice of releasing the number of militants killed in fighting with American-led forces as part of an overall strategy shift and an effort to portray to the Afghan people a different U.S. approach to the war. The decision has triggered a quiet but fierce debate among military officers, one with echoes of the U.S. experience in Vietnam, when military officials routinely exaggerated body counts and used them as a measure of success -- a practice that proved counterproductive.Under the new order, issued by Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith, the military will not release specifics on how many insurgents are killed in fighting and will instead provide estimates. The change is part of a strategy to make the Afghan people feel safer, and it comes as U.S. commanders are instituting measures to avoid civilian casualties. "We send the wrong message if all we talk about is the number of insurgents killed. It doesn't demonstrate anything about whether we have made progress," said Smith, who arrived six weeks ago to overhaul U.S. and NATO communications efforts. "We want to shift the mind-set." Smith has asked commanders to issue fewer news releases and to focus on improvements in security where international forces are operating. "We have to show we are here to protect the people," he said. Officers who have favored releasing such figures said they are not intended to demonstrate military progress, but to counter and even preempt extremist propaganda charging that international forces are killing innocent Afghan civilians. "It is the first version that sticks," said Col. Greg Julian, the outgoing military spokesman. He favored releasing the information but agrees the policy should be changed under the new strategy emphasizing protection of the population. Throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military has periodically taken to reporting numbers of insurgents killed in specific clashes. Early in the Afghan war, Gen. Tommy Franks, then the top commander, said, "We don't do body counts." But last year, amid increasing violence, the 101st Airborne Division began releasing information about the number of militants killed, and the practice soon spread throughout U.S. forces. It was not the first time military setbacks prompted officials to release body counts. In 2005, as U.S. fortunes in Iraq spiraled downward, body counts crept into military news releases. Public affairs officials argued that, while not a measure of overall progress, casualty counts can show the success of individual missions. Posted by: Steve White 2009-07-24 |
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