The Taliban's failed offensive

Strategy Page:

The last two weeks have seen an ambitious Taliban offensive shot to pieces. As many as a thousand Taliban gunmen, in half a dozen different groups, have passed over the Pakistani border, or been gathered within Afghanistan, and sent off to try and take control of remote villages and districts. The offensive was a major failure, with nearly half the Taliban getting killed, wounded or captured. Afghan and Coalition casualties were much less, although you wouldn't know that from the mass media reports (which made it all look like a Taliban victory). The Taliban faced more mobile opponents, who had better intelligence. UAVs, aircraft and helicopters were used to track down the Taliban, and catch them. Thousands of Afghan troops and police were in action, exposing some of them to ambush, as they drove to new positions through remote areas.

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The media uses the impossible standard of failing to prevent a failed attack as a measure of success ever since the failed Tet offensive. While the Taliban forces are being destroyed, to the media that is just another sign of a failed policy to prevent attacks. If they new anything about warfare, they would be eager for the enemy to launch failed attacks. He is attriting his forces and not obtaining his objectives, short of surrender, it is hard to ask for more.