As I have said many times in the context of many similar incidents in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no reliable way to distinguish a peaceful Muslim from a jihadist. This is yet more fruit of the unwillingness to make even a cursory attempt to take that fact into account.
"'Insider' Afghan attacks blister," by Tom Vanden Brook for USA Today, June 13 (thanks to Sayyid):
WASHINGTON — The number of attacks by Afghan security forces on U.S. and allied troops has increased dramatically this year, prompting commanders to seek ways to ease combat stress among Afghan troops, according to a NATO investigation obtained by USA TODAY.Since 2005, there have been 22 such attacks, nine of them in 2011, or 40% of the total.
The attacks have coincided with an increase in the size of Afghan security forces and the addition of 30,000 more U.S. troops last year.
The attacks since 2005 have killed 51 troops from the U.S.-led coalition and wounded 48 more.
The review found that 38% of the attacks were the result of "emotional, intellectual or physical stress due to presence in a combat environment."
Not jihad. Of course not, you greasy Islamophobe. Don't you know that Islam is a Religion of Peace?
The attacks "do, in fact, erode hard-earned trust," Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, commander of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, said during a recent visit to Washington.
If only! But in fact, the wellspring of American trust in the Afghan forces appears to be inexhaustible.
The review of what the military calls "Insider Threat" is the first comprehensive analysis of attacks by Afghan security forces on allied troops since 2005. It comes after several recent attacks, including one on April 27 in which an Afghan air force pilot killed eight U.S. Air Force officers and an American contractor. In that case, stress appears to have caused the pilot to lash out, though he had not been recently involved in combat, according to NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan. That case remains under investigation....In addition to combat stress, the investigation concluded that 19% of the attacks were caused by insurgents encouraging or blackmailing Afghan soldiers and police to attack coalition forces....
To guard against the threat, NATO and Afghan commanders are ensuring that combat-stressed Afghan troops get adequate rest.
Yeah, that's why they do this, all right: because they're tired and under stress. Isn't that the first thing you do when you get very, very tired or feel very stressed: go into a crowd of your friends or coworkers and commit mass murder?
They also have increased the number of counterintelligence personnel assigned to spotting potential attackers and screening of recruits and current members of the security forces has been tightened.
By what criteria? Probably not any useful or realistic ones.
Afghan authorities have seized thousands of military uniforms after a crackdown on illegal sales, Reveron said....
I wonder how many got by them.
"The fact remains that, day to day, NATO and Afghan forces interact literally tens of thousands of times in each 24-hour period, with typically zero incidents per day or week nationwide," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution who recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan. "So on balance the situation is OK."
Soldiers only occasionally get murdered by their putative comrades, so on balance the situation is OK!
RSS Feed
Simple solution for that - increase the rate of friendly fire incidents on the Afghan 'allies', and apologize everytime but keep repeating it, citing incompetance. In the end, just pull out all troops. Keep a fleet in the Arabian Sea, and the next time a terrorist act based in Afghanistan or Pakistan is carried out, just send a few ICBMs their way and level them in a big way!