NATO announces offensive plan to taliban

Ahead of operation Moshtarak or 'joint operation' in Dari (a real imaginary name), NATO forces will broadcast when and where the operation is to take place. A real smart idea, tell the enemy what your plans are. Real freaking smart. National Post

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- What is being billed as a massive offensive in Helmand province by thousands of U.S. marines, the British army and Afghan forces, is being proceeded by an equally huge media blitz to explain to locals and the enemy where the operation is to take place and that it is imminent.[...]

Letting the Taliban know what is about to happen in their redoubt in the Helmand River Valley may seem like a counter-intuitive way to conduct combat operations, as operational security usually takes precedence over everything else in a war zone. But it is a counter-insurgency (COIN) strategy that was first used in Afghanistan by Canada early last year.

Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance, who commanded Canada's brigade here until three months ago, repeatedly went out of his way during his tour to tell any Afghan who would listen, where and approximately when his ground forces planned to launch offensives in Kandahar that were usually backed by attack helicopters and what soldiers call "fast air."

What happened when Vance and his successor, Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard made such proclamations was that the Taliban fled. As almost no shots ended up being fired, there were no coalition, civilian or enemy casualties.

No sh*t, you tell the taliban when and where you want to attack and they'll leave. That's not an operational success, that's nothing. If you want to win this war you have to kill the taliban...not let them escape and fight another day.

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his. George S. Patton.