I don't believe in any conspiracies. To have a conspiracy, you really have to put a lot of effort in. I haven't seen any conspiracy.
The central organization of the Taliban, of course, is quite astute. They do try to manipulate public opinion; they not only want to affect public opinion for their own people in their own area, but they also want to affect public opinion in NATO countries and other countries. They want to always give the message that they're somehow succeeding and we're failing, so that our people back home will get the impression that we're not succeeding.
Yes, the Taliban manipulates, but I would not attest to the fact that four soldiers were killed because the Taliban was trying to send a message. They try to send a message every day.
The media coverage is pretty good. We have embedded media in Kandahar, and they report fairly on what's going on. It's just that I'd like to see them report more than just action; I'd like them to report more of what's going on in the society. Before I visited Afghanistan the first time, I saw Peter Mansbridge on CBC. He actually went into Kandahar City, and I actually got a look at Kandahar City and the life there because the media were there, whereas previous to that all I ever saw was vehicles blown up on roads and two soldiers standing off in the distance somewhere. That was my impression, as a person who hadn't been to Afghanistan, of Afghanistan.
The media are absolutely fair. They report what's going on and they report it relatively accurately; I'd just like to see them show a little bit more of the rest of the life.