 |
| Dawa Khan Meenapal |
The Taliban today murdered Dawa Khan Meenapal, who headed Afghanistan’s government media & information office, as he was traveling in Kabul, according to the Associated Press.
The shooting is part of an assassination wave launched by the Taliban, targeting government officials in the wake of America’s decision to end its involvement in the “forever war.”
The Taliban on Twitter called the killing of Meenapal, who had earlier served as a spokesperson for Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, a “special attack of the Mujahedeen.”
Ross Wilson, US Charge d'Affaires, is “saddened and disgusted” by the targeted killing of Meenapal, whom he called a friend and colleague whose career was focused on providing truthful information to all Afghans about Afghanistan, according to his tweet.
He called the murder “an affront to Afghans’ human rights and freedom of speech.”
The board of PRSA-NY sent a message today to members to direct them to its statement on the situation in Israel/Gaza.
To prepare for a crisis, companies need a team of experts—legal, investigative, forensic and crisis communications—to ensure proper strategy and communications through “make or break” situations. 
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has retained The Levinson Group for PR support in its battle with striking screenwriters and actors over compensation and the use of artificial intelligence.
Real Chemistry has recruited Edelman US crisis & risk chair Steve Behm as practice leader of its crisis communications and corporate reputation practice. It also adds Weber Shandwick social impact veteran Brian Tjugum to head its group.
When dealing with a crisis, you need to start by identifying where in proximity to the organization’s reputation it lies, so, like a cancer, you can isolate it and neutralize it before it grows.
Have a comment? Send it to 
Aug. 6, 2021, by Joe Honick
Of course it was disgusting. It was also an open challenge to the US who led the NATO operation that could not overcome the Taliban all these years. Biggest information lack: ask anyone who the Taliban are, how they are supported, managed and recruited, etc., and you will get a blank stare...all for lack of our own media failure to explain those points. Every year for almost 10 years after publishing a lengthy article in these pages with questions the Pentagon did not want to answer, the four main questions were: how come the forces of some of the most powerful nations could not take down an insurgent force, what kept the Taliban in action, why was no one in Congress or the media asking those questions and why were we there in the first place? The article here was, I believe, simply titled "Unanswered Questions."
This gentleman's murder speaks volumes to the mystery of our involvement and the tragic and wasteful cost in lives and so many hundreds of billions of dollars...all for a failure at the doorsteps of Democrats and Republicans.