What is going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

On the one hand I read in The Sun that:

'SOLDIERS were banned from shooting Taliban fighters planting mines - to avoid waking Afghan locals, a former Royal Marine has revealed.

Craig Smith, 36, said US military chiefs routinely frustrated frontline forces by ordering them to exercise "courageous restraint".

Troops were even told they could be charged with MURDER if they shot anyone without permission from command.

...

He spoke out after an inquest heard 34-year-old hero Sergeant Peter Rayner was blown up, just days after being told not to fire on insurgents who were seen laying deadly IEDs.

One senior officer stunned troops when he ordered them not to shoot a Taliban fighter because gunfire would "wake up and upset the locals".

Instead they were told they must stand by and WATCH.'

Meanwhile I have seen a video that shows the sort of restraint shown by The Taliban. The video is too disturbing for me to post here but you can find it at this American Power Blog post; it shows some extremely graphic video, described thus:

'The Taliban videotaped the brutal execution of more than a dozen Pakistani policemen who were captured during last month's raid in a remote area of northwestern Pakistan.

The graphic video, which shows 16 Pakistani policemen who are lined up and then gunned down by Taliban fighters wielding AK-47s, was taken in early June in the Shaltalu area of the district of Dir in northwestern Pakistan, a Pakistani official and US intelligence officials who track the region told The Long War Journal. The executions were filmed after the policemen were captured during several days of heavy fighting.'

Sometimes I wonder if our military and political leaders have any idea what is happening on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan.