Taliban

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Afghan officials standing by bodies of Taliban fighters investigate the site of a deadly suicide attack on a joint NATO-Afghan base in Nangarhar province, east of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. NATO said a service member died following a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan, without identifying the soldier's nationality. An official said five Taliban fighters on foot tried to storm the base after the bombing, but Afghan and NATO troops returned fire, killing the attackers. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

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** FILE ** Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos ordered the officer overseeing a Taliban desecration case to "crush" the defendants shown in a video, court-martial all of them and kick them out of the Corps, according to witnesses. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** U.S. Marines fire at Taliban positions, during a firefight in Nawa district, Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. (Associated Press)

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Bigger body count: Casualties on the battlefield spiked after commanders in Afghanistan had to ensure that Taliban fighters were carrying weapons and that no civilians would be harmed before they could authorize direct fire against the enemy. (Associated Press)

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Troops say the bureaucracy has cost lives: Each Taliban fighter allowed to escape is one more terrorist free to attack Americans by fighting battles or planting bombs.