'Every time the Taliban kills civilians, nothing happens'

The Associated Press, where I worked briefly in a non-journalist capacity in 2004, has been frequently criticized for its war coverage, perhaps most notably for publishing the photo of mortally wounded Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard on August 14, 2009, in Afghanistan. However, this blog will always be fair when analyzing war coverage, even when provided by outlets it doesn't always agree with. That's why I wanted to spotlight a good, balanced article published yesterday by the AP.

Reporter Deb Riechmann covers a Thursday rally in Afghanistan, where protesters chanted "death to America" and "long live Islam," and burned President Obama in effigy. They are protesting recent civilian deaths in the country, which have been attributed by the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and even Afghan President Hamid Karzai to western troops, even though investigations have not yet been completed. The article correctly points out the stark contrast between U.S. forces, who are doing everything possible to protect civilians, and terrorists who use them as human shields.

More civilians die at the hands of insurgents, yet any time innocent victims are killed, the Taliban waste no time in blaming foreigners.

"Every time the Taliban kills civilians, nothing happens. There is no protest. There is nothing," said Hroon Mir, an independent political analyst in Kabul. "But whenever there are civilian casualties from NATO or Afghan forces, then there is a reaction."

President Hamid Karzai has not been shy about denouncing the deaths, sometimes before investigations can conclude whether civilians or extremists were killed.

It is critically important to avoid civilian deaths in any war, especially in a volatile region like Afghanistan, and that's why Gen. Stanley McChrystal has made it the centerpiece of his new surge strategy. Hopefully, the media will start opening its collective eyes like this AP reporter did, and recognize that the Taliban routinely manipulates hostile media outlets like al-Jazeera to spread false propaganda about U.S. and NATO troops around the world.