The breeze from the Taliban bullets

Observer/Guardian:

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The Taliban often appear from nowhere. A crack of gunfire, then a blanket of bullets followed by the whoosh of rockets. Three, four, five of them. There is a scramble for cover and troops return fire. Then, as quickly as they appeared, they melt away. Such a 'contact' can last for two minutes; it is the classic 'shoot and scoot' tactic of guerilla fighters

They are an elusive enemy: British troops rarely catch a clear glimpse of them even during firefights. One corporal with the Royal Anglians in Sangin, Christian Kisby, 22, from Leeds, remembers: 'Hundreds of bullets were coming at me. I could feel their breeze as they passed. The trees in front of me were getting shredded by Taliban gunners behind. I couldn't even see them'.

They are also proving an idiosyncratic enemy. British forces intercepting signals have heard Taliban commanders bragging that they have killed President George Bush. Other snippets have caught them glorifying victories after attacks when no British soldier was injured. Sometimes, in the strange, still moments before combat, troops hear Taliban fighters giggling hysterically.

'They seem to enjoy their opium; they can seem out of it during a contact,' says Private Nici Whaites, 23, from King's Lynn, his gaze wandering to the green ribbon of the Sangin valley where the opium crop is sown. Occasionally, a lone man will appear, fire a single shot and run away. These are the '10-dollar Taliban', paid to take pot-shots at the infidels.

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The conflict in Helmand, like all wars, is as much about information as infantry. The Taliban PR offensive is slick. The deaths of civilians are quickly blamed on the British. Reports of collateral damage - true or otherwise - ripple along the settlements lining the Helmand. Muslim Yah of the Afghanistan Stabilisation Programme says that 'corrupt mullahs' are engaged in a fresh round of recruiting for jihad against the British invaders. Thousands might be persuaded, he says. Often the Taliban recruit fighters by intimidation, disseminating pictures of the headless torsos of those who refused to join them.

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These excerpts are from a long piece. I thought the description of the Taliban being high on opium was particularly telling, and the false bravado of their information operation mixed with their bogus civilian casualty claims demonstrate how the media battle space is much more important that the battle field it self to their survival. Henceforth, civilian casualty reports should be considered an admission by the Taliban that their forces have been severely damaged and they are now pretending to be civilians.