U.S. Army General David Petraeus has touted all kinds of numbers to show progress being made in the Afghanistan war as a result of stepped up night raids on homes and businesses. But there’s one figure he left out that indicates the attacks may be backfiring on the U.S. plan to win over the local population.

 

Last month, Petraeus said that about 3,000 night raids carried out over three months had killed or captured 365 insurgent leaders, captured 1,355 Taliban fighters and killed 1,031.

 

But in Kandahar province, a critical region in the U.S. strategy, Afghans aren’t helping American soldiers as they did previously. Before the expansion of the night raids by Special Forces, residents turned in an average 3.5% of roadside bombs planted by insurgents. That total dropped to 1.5% after the U.S. began storming homes after dark in greater numbers.

 

“Night raids, which are viewed as a violation of the sanctity of the home and generate large numbers of civilian casualties, are the single biggest factor in generating popular anger at U.S. and NATO forces, as Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal conceded in his directive on the issue last March,” wrote Gareth Porter for Inter Press Service.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Doubling of SOF Night Raids Backfired in Kandahar (by Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service)

Petraeus vs. The Numbers: Who to Believe about IED Attacks? (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)