NOT How to Win a War
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/18/world/asia/two-americans-killed-by-afghan-recruit-in-green-on-blue-assault.html
KABUL, Afghanistan — Two American Special Forces members were shot to death on Friday by a new Afghan local police recruit they were training at a small outpost in western Afghanistan.
Related
11 Are Killed as U.S. Copter Goes Down in Afghanistan (August 17, 2012)
In a second “green-on-blue” attack on Friday, in the south, an Afghan security force member turned his weapon on other international service personnel, wounding two American soldiers, NATO and Afghan officials said.
The two American service members who died were part of a Special Operations team working with the local police in Farah Province in the west of Afghanistan, according to a NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the attack.
The Americans belonged to United States Forces-Afghanistan, a command separate from the main NATO force.
Special Operations forces are working closely with Afghan forces on the Afghan Local Police initiative, a group trained and financed by the United States and viewed as an important stopgap to secure remote corners of Afghanistan as international troops withdraw. Another American Special Forces service member was wounded and an Afghan police recruit was killed in the shooting, said Aqa Noor Kentoz, the police chief of Farah Province.
Mr. Kentoz identified the attacker. “When the training finished, the ALP soldier Mohammad Ismail turned his weapon toward our allies and killed two of them,” Mr. Kentoz said.
My Thoughts: Are you as sick of hearing about these incidents as I am? Although the details are missing about these soldiers and their identities are not released we can reasonably assume they were married and at least one of them had children. So here again we have just created two widows and another son or daughter who will grow up without a father--and for what cause?
All I can say is it is a good things we did not attempt to defeat Japan after VE-day in Europe in the same way we are fighting the war in Afghanistan.
Yes the man who turned on the US was killed but to what extent is that sufficient to create the deterrent we need to prevent another incident.
The article goes on to say that this is NOT an isolated case.
With the two episodes on Friday morning, there have now been at least 31 such attacks in Afghanistan so far this year, including 21 that have resulted in fatalities.
All told, the deaths of at least 39 NATO service members during the first eight months of 2012 have been attributed to these shootings. Those numbers for deaths and attacks already surpass the figures for green-on-blue attacks for all of 2011.
Notice the numbers are greater in 2012 than 2011. That is NOT a good thing. We are going in the wrong direction. It is time to 1) get out, or 2) use a bigger stick in our diplomacy. Well you may think I am writing as a madman this is hardly the case. I am writing as a Pastor that doesn't want to have to bury another church member to a premature death on foreign soil for what cause.
Our President has failed to clearly articulate what vital national interests are present in Afghanistan that warrant the continued risk we are taking as we sustain combat operations in country. As a US citizen that strives to take current on this administration's policy and direction I don't have a clue why we are still in Afghanistan. I thought we deployed to Afghanistan to kill the mastermind of the 9-11-01 assault--Mr. Osama bin Laden. But it has been 15 months since US Navy Seals ended bin Laden's life--now what?
Yes that is precisely the question I want the President and the potential next President of the US States to answer. 'Now what' when it comes to Afghanistan. Where Mr. President are you taking us in our foreign policy with Afghanistan.
When can the boys come home? What does success look like? How is it defined? How do I know if I am winning?
Because presently it does feel anything like winning when the person we train and equip uses the weapon and ammunition we gave him to kill his trainer.
And if our only retaliation is to kill that man who killed out man--those stakes are too costly.
