The above image is of a normal town in Afghanistan called Tarok Kolache when it was seeing better days even though it was, according to American forces, overrun by Taliban insurgents.
After they had failed in two previous attempts to clear the town of the Taliban the US forces, led by Lt. Col. David Flynn; commander of Combined Joint Task Force 1-320th, decided that they needed to bomb the Taliban out of the town.
The only problem is that in the process they totally demolished the town of Tarok Kolache. In fact it no longer exists as you can see by the images below.
According to a post at Danger Room the head honchos are so happy with the results that they are okaying this type of thing for bigger operations
Broadwell writes that the operation is ultimately a success, quoting Flynn as saying “As of today, more of the local population talks to us and the government than talk to the Taliban.” That appears to be good enough for higher command. Petraeus, having visited the village and allowing Flynn to personally approve reconstruction projects worth up to $1 million, told his commanders in the south to “take a similar approach to what 1-320th was doing on a grander scale as it applies to the districts north of Arghandab.”
