An Air Force crew from Dyess AFB, Tex., last week dropped some 80,000 leaflets over Afghanistan, targeting known Taliban-inhabited areas. The last such drop—30,000 leaflets—was part of Operation Achilles in March. The Dyess C-130 aircrew made the drop at the request of the Army. The leaflet has two messages, one on each side: one tells the reader that Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Forces are targeting the Helmand region to rid it of foreign Taliban; and the other explains that “the Taliban are commanded by foreigners who seek to destroy Afghanistan.”
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
