By Barbara Starr
CNN Pentagon CorrespondentWASHINGTON (CNN) – The U.S. military will stop publishing the number of Taliban and insurgents it kills in Afghanistan under orders from the senior U.S. military spokesman for the American-led coalition.
Rear Adm. Gregory Smith ordered the change as part of the new military strategy in the war that focuses on protecting Afghan citizens rather than killing militants.
“Indicating the number of insurgents killed has little relevance to impacting the lives of Afghans. In fact, if that were the only purpose and metric, you would likely only extend the time it takes to bring about an end to the insurgency,” Smith said in an e-mail to CNN responding to a query about the change.
Continue reading US to suspend enemy body counts in Afghanistan
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