Offensive Fail Against the Second String

The Taliban vowed that this year--unlike past press release-only offensives--they'd execute the most awesome spring offensive, evah! With American troops stepping back, the Taliban thought there time was finally here. Well, not yet.

Strategypage assesses the progress of the Taliban spring offensive:

The much touted (by the Taliban) “Summer Offensive” is often to an anemic start, with NATO deaths so far this month less than half what they were last year.

Now, with our troops in the background, I'd expect our casualties to be down. So I want unfurl the banner until I read more about how the Afghanistan security forces are handling the Taliban.

Bonus material on Taliban efforts to spin civilian casualties lopsidedly due to the Taliban and our more vigorous efforts to refute the claims.