US Courts Afghans Through Television

In a country where police are often known for drug use, bribe-taking and bungled operations, one elite squad stands out -- well-trained officers who protect the weak, effortlessly take out would-be suicide bombers and also look good in tank tops. They are the fictional police unit of "Eagle Four," the first of several television shows funded by the U.S. government as part of a strategy to galvanize Afghans behind their security forces. The show's first episodes debuted in recent weeks on Tolo TV, one of Afghanistan's largest stations. Tolo will follow up in the spring with "Birth of an Army," a reality show that follows recruits from their first training missions to their battles with insurgents.

The US-backed shows are part of a broad allied effort to counter a Taliban propaganda offensive against coalition and Afghan forces, a push that runs parallel to the surge of forces on the ground. TV is seen as an effective way for the US to spread its message to Afghanistan's largely young and illiterate population. A cop show appeals to the core demographic: impressionable young men.