Rebecca's War Dog of the Week: The Real Reason Why the Taliban Capture of a Military Dog is News

By Rebecca Frankel


Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

There has been a lot of response to the Taliban's recently
released video footage in which it touts the capture of what it originally
claimed was a U.S. military dog called Colonel. Thursday morning's initial
reports lacked much in-depth reporting and it turns
out the dog is thought to have been attached to British
forces and originally went missing in December after a NATO mission gone wrong.
The majority of headlines and discussion were focused not on the validity
of the reports or the video, but just the news that a war dog was captured.

Later commentary yesterday, like this Washington Post
blog post,
attempted to broaden the discussion by asking the question: "Why do we
care about this dog?" I take issue with this on a few levels, but on its
face this is not a totally worthless question to ponder. However, in this
instance it's the wrong question. It begs an answer that needs no
validation. You don't have to be a dog lover to understand that. You don't even
have to weigh the ethics of waging war or the cost of life -- whether soldier,
civilian, or canine -- to understand that. Yes, it pulls heartstrings to see
this dog, confused and uncomfortable. But the gut twist of this footage doesn't
begin and end with the emotion of seeing a dog in the hands of men who may very
well end his life. It's not just a hit to our collective morale.

The question we should be asking -- and forgive me, for I am
repeating
myself -- is this: Why does the Taliban care about this dog?

Why does the Taliban think that releasing a video of this
dog is going to make a difference to the U.S. military? For anyone who might
scoff or pass this off as a clumsy move on behalf of a few Taliban fighters who, by
showing off a handful of weapons and a dog, believed they scored a victory
against their enemy, seriously underestimates how seriously NATO forces need
and rely on these dogs. They also underestimate how good these dogs are at
their job, how many lives they save, and how much the men and women on the
ground value them -- consider them a fellow soldier more than a tool or piece
of equipment.

I hate to say it, but the Taliban got it right when they
banked they'd gotten their hands on something of unquantifiable value. And
that's a bit of news worth noting.