Pakistani Claims Of High Taliban Casualties 'Wildly Exaggerated' - US Officials -- Lon War Journal
US military and intelligence officials are expressing skepticism about Pakistani claims of high Taliban casualties as the fighting spreads in the volatile northwest.
The Pakistani military's daily reports of hundreds of Taliban fighters killed in the districts of Swat, Shangla, Dir, and Buner are "wildly exaggerated," a senior US intelligence official who is closely watching the operations in Pakistan told The Long War Journal.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's Interior Minister, claimed that more than 700 Taliban fighters were killed in the last four days in Swat alone, Dawn reported. But a US intelligence official described Malik's claim as "fantastic."
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The Pakistani military's daily reports of hundreds of Taliban fighters killed in the districts of Swat, Shangla, Dir, and Buner are "wildly exaggerated," a senior US intelligence official who is closely watching the operations in Pakistan told The Long War Journal.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's Interior Minister, claimed that more than 700 Taliban fighters were killed in the last four days in Swat alone, Dawn reported. But a US intelligence official described Malik's claim as "fantastic."
Read more ....
My Comment: The Long War Journal is probably right. I heard the same boasting a few months ago when the war in the Swat Province was underway. The same reports of military successes and Taliban defeats made the headlines .... and then we learned that the Pakistani Government made a "peace agreement" with the Taliban that gave the Taliban everything.
When it comes to the Pakistani Government, I follow the following simple rule. Fool me once ... shame on you. Fool me twice .... shame on me.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's Interior Minister, claimed that more than 700 Taliban fighters were killed in the last four days in Swat alone, Dawn reported. But a US intelligence official described Malik's claim as "fantastic."
Read more ....
My Comment: The Long War Journal is probably right. I heard the same boasting a few months ago when the war in the Swat Province was underway. The same reports of military successes and Taliban defeats made the headlines .... and then we learned that the Pakistani Government made a "peace agreement" with the Taliban that gave the Taliban everything.
When it comes to the Pakistani Government, I follow the following simple rule. Fool me once ... shame on you. Fool me twice .... shame on me.