"KABUL, Afghanistan – The new top commander in Afghanistan is talking up a weapon that has been kept in the shadows for years — special operations missions to kill or capture key insurgents — to try to convince skeptics the war can be won.
More than previous commanders, Gen. David Petraeus has released the results of special operations missions — 235 militant leaders were killed or captured in the last 90 days, another 1,066 rank-and-file insurgents killed and 1,673 detained — to demonstrate the Taliban and their allies are also suffering losses as NATO casualties rise.
Petraeus told reporters traveling Friday with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, that in the past 24 hours, special operations forces carried out eight missions, capturing three targeted individuals. Four more were believed killed or detained, Petraeus said.
Accentuating the positive is part of Petraeus' media style, developed when he commanded U.S. forces in Iraq and was widely credited with helping turn the tide in that war."
SATURDAY: 4 SEPTEMBER 2010
Credited for turning the tide in that war? Or just turning our perception of it?
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