As NATO-Afghan led operations are underway in Afghanistan, propaganda remains at the forefront of the fight between the Taliban and the US, reports AOL News. Following US forces air strikes, which destroyed a house and killed civilians, Afghan sources claimed Taliban militants were using civilians as human shields- a claim that the Taliban refuted immediately.

"This is propaganda to cover up the civilian deaths caused by the invaders," said Habibullah, a Taliban commander. Speaking over the telephone from an undisclosed location in Kandahar province, east of Helmand, he continued, "These people are our people; they are our brothers and sisters. Why would we put our own kin in danger?"

As the truth remains uncertain, such exchanges of accusations between the Taliban and the US will indubitably continue. According to AOL News, Habibullah added that the civilian presence is the key to the Taliban's strategy but put a different spin on why noncombatants have remained in the area. "Everyone here supports the Taliban," he claimed. "They are happy to be martyrs for our cause."

The news site remarks that indeed, much of the insurgency in this part of Afghanistan is actually homegrown, denoting the population’s adherence to the Taliban’s rhetoric. In order to win the trust of the locals, the US and NATO must convince the locals that they will stick around and enforce peace in the region.

On the other hand, AOL News speculates that the Taliban will likely be prolonging the battle for hearts and minds, turning the deaths of innocents into a rallying cry against foreign aggression. Adnan R. Khan concludes, “In this case, as in so many other guerilla wars, the propagandist wins.

Diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus for BBC News remarks that it is precisely this propaganda that shapes the battlefield where “information has become the new front line.” Aware that perception is pivotal in this war, the Pentagon and NATO have been devising a strategic communication plan to reach out to local populations.

Marcus illustrates his point with the example of the current operation in Helmand, broadcast widely in advance and named “Operation Moshtarak,” which in Dari translates as "together," stressing the idea of partnership in an attempt to muster the population’s support.

However, the new discipline of strategic communications seeks to go beyond information operations, press briefings and leaflet drops. In the words of one alliance official, it is "an over-arching concept that seeks to put information at the very centre of policy planning."

Marcus remarks that this growing centrality of information and the need to shape perceptions inevitably prompts critics to suggest that this may be no more than an exercise of propaganda. "In strategic communications, the messages you are sending must fit the facts on the ground," countered Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute in London. "The discipline is about bringing perceptions and reality together to achieve an effect."

Integrated into its counterinsurgency strategy, NATO relies heavily on “advertising” according to the Wall Street Journal. In the current Marjah offensive led by the US and NATO, the military clearing can only succeed if the Afghan government can follow it with “hold and build” operations that maintain the loyalty of the population.

Patricia Lee Sharpe argues for Whirled Views that in general, winning the hearts and minds is a fallacy and “near impossible,” mainly due to the image of US today. She remarks that public diplomacy is increasingly transformed into a different apparatus, where the lines between strategic communication propaganda and public diplomacy are blurred.

According to Sharpe, the military propaganda “has been brought to bear on the American people as well.” Consequently, she deplores that the US is faced with misinformed and frightened people who agree “that the insatiable military budget is indeed untouchable, except to be increased, and thus ensuring that an America that once gave heart to the world is less and less possible.”