A U.S. Special Operations Commander issued an apology after a Psychological Operations Unit (PSYOPS) mistakenly dropped leaflets in afghanistan. The leaflet contained a symbol considered offensive to Muslims. The apology comes as President Donald Trump released a statement saying that there will be an increased presence of troops in Afghanistan.
The offensive leaflets
Time reported that the leaflets were dropped into Afghanistan on Monday night and encouraged Afghans to cooperate with security forces. The leaflet contained religious text over the picture of a dog carrying a Taliban flag.
Dogs are considered unclean in Muslim society and the symbol is considered offensive to Muslims. Shah Wali Shahid, the deputy governor of Parwan province, said that the locals were offended by the leaflets. Locals wanted those who dropped the leaflets brought to justice. Major General John Linder, the commander of the special operations task force, apologized for the incident. He said the leaflets mistakenly contained the design and offered his "sincerest apologies for the error."
The Washington Times reported that MG Linder said that there was no excuse for the error. U.S. Central Command released a statement on Wednesday taking responsibility for the release of the leaflets. Troops believed they were simply denigrating the Taliban.
Instead, the release of the leaflets was both a cultural and religious faux pas by pairing the text with the image of a dog, a custom called Shahada. The full leaflet showed a picture of a lion chasing a dog with the Taliban flag overlying it. The leaflet called Taliban forces terrorist dogs and warned the locals to join Coalition forces or be wiped out.
Attack after the release
NBC News reported that the Taliban claimed to have carried out an attack at Bagram Airfield afterward. The attack took place outside the main gate of Bagram. Four people were injured. None of those injured were American forces. Although Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that the Taliban was behind the attack, he provided no proof of their involvement.
Additional attacks against American forces were mentioned. The military had previously warned that there would be demonstrations to protest the leaflets. Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary posted the following question on Twitter: "Are the PR advisers fighting or feeding the enemies?" There has been no word on when the President plans to send more troops to Afghanistan although there are more soldiers in Afghanistan than the Pentagon wants to admit.
