The Taliban have started a radio channel, operating from a mobile broadcast facility that is on for two hours a day. The broadcasts pump out the same kind of propaganda the Taliban controlled radio put out until late 2001. The broadcasts can only be heard in parts of southern Afghanistan, and are considered part of the Taliban "Spring Offensive." This operation is not going well, with the Taliban attacks failing when they encounter army or American troops. The Taliban are at a big disadvantage this year, because many of the tribes that, in the past, were pro-Taliban, or neutral, are now hostile to them. If the Taliban were to fade away, it would be a major defeat for al Qaeda, which had spent several years helping to keep the Afghan Islamic radicals in power.