This article never saw the printed paper, thus the title of Invisible Ink.
"Elite US forces target Kandahar" by New York Times | April 26, 2010
Small bands of elite US Special Operations forces have been operating with increased intensity for several weeks in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan’s largest city, picking up or picking off insurgent leaders to weaken the Taliban in advance of major operations, senior administration and military officials say.
The looming battle for the spiritual home of the Taliban is shaping up as the pivotal test of President Obama’s Afghanistan strategy, including how much the United States can count on the country’s leaders and military for support, and whether a possible increase in civilian casualties from heavy fighting will compromise a strategy that depends on winning over the Afghan people. Today, two civilians were killed after two explosions struck downtown Kandahar, the Associated Press reported.
The operation will follow a first offensive, into the hamlet of Marja, that is showing mixed results.
After we were told we won.
Related: The Boston Globe's Invisible Ink: Lost Marjah Mojo
And it will require the United States and its Afghan partners to navigate a battleground that is not only much bigger than Marja but also militarily, politically, and culturally more complex.
Two months after the Marja offensive, Afghan officials acknowledge that the Taliban have in some ways retaken the momentum there, including killing or beating locals allied with the central government and its American backers.
The battle for Kandahar has become the make-or-break offensive of the 8 1/2-year war.
Already broke, fools.
The question is whether military force, softened with appeals to the locals, can overcome a culture built on distrust of outsiders.
When they are kicking down doors, killing people, dragging them away to be tortured, and dropping missiles on them from on high, yeah, you are not going to be trusted.
Any questions?
The operation in Kandahar, a sprawling urban area, is designed to be a slowly rising tide of military action....
Yeah, SO SLOW you WON'T EVEN NOTICE the RISING LEVEL of BLOOD -- especially in an AmeriKan newspaper.
They are pretty good about covering up and soaking up the blood once they have lied you into wars.
