Despite a NATO official‘s recent contention that green-on-blue attacks were mostly personal beefs, the U.S. military has temporarily halted training of Afghan military and police forces after attacks by Afghan soldiers and police on their international allies claimed 45 lives (so far this year). The U.S. will now “re-vet” some 27k Afghan troops. The move was not unpredictable; New York Times Correspondent C.J. Chivers has repeatedly revealed the low-quality of Afghan troops and the U.S.’s inability to bring them up to anything remotely resembling our military standard. The Washington Post puts it this way: “Many of the incidents might have been prevented if existing security measures had been applied correctly. But numerous military guidelines were not followed — by Afghans or Americans — because of concerns that they might slow the growth of the Afghan army and police, according to NATO officials.” Culture eats strategy for lunch.
LMAO……the last line has it right. Our strategy sucks. Didn’t have these problems when I was there in 2006……….but the command didn’t even achknowledge we were there. They were too focused on Iraq.
Anyway, this is what happens when Big Army tries to run the SOCOM ODA mission……they screw it up. Too many idiots on high more worried about their “legacy” and politics then results.
Anybody want to read up on what being an embed advisor in Afghanistan is really like, check out books by James F. Christ on Amazon or Barnes and Noble .com He’s a good friend of mine and his books are based on first hand accounts from those of us that were THERE. Also, any of you guys that have seen Restrepo (movie)……..check out James’s books about the 10th MTN guys that were with me in the Korengal BEFORE the guys in that movie.
Anyway, shameless plugs aside, if we are willing to do what is needed to win over the people in the villages with minimal manpower and equipment comitments, then the long term benefits will be worth it. But if we are going to keep fucking around with this business model of how to do things, then we are wasting time and lives and need to get out. Shame we as a nation didn’t actually learn anything from Vietnam.
What took them so long? Anybody here in doubt after the first “blue on blue” incident?
We should listen to Clint Eastwood and just redeploy outta there.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that many if not most of the recruits have never tied a shoe before and we have to teach them to lace their boots.
It is a pathetic place that has no business owning an army, especially one armed by us. We went there for revenge and to convince them to never again attack us, and instead we let them push us around and tell us how to wage this ersatz war. We are trying to pretend these disjointed and warring tribes are one nation because it fits our idea of what a nation should be. We need a major policy change there.
Nation building is a relatively new idea, only one country has ever done it and it doesn’t usually work. It took us all of about 3 months to do what the Soviets couldn’t do in 10 years. Then it took us almost as as long to prove we’re almost as stupid. All for a patch of ground that isn’t worth the rocks covering it.
pull out. if we want to teach these bass ackwards countries not to fvck with us there’s always cruise missiles and drones. and when the last american plane pulls out karzai and his buds better be on it.
Are we still in Afghanistan to protect the heroin trade? Trying to turn a bunch of uneducated, ignorant and almost primitive peasants into a modern army is an incredibly dumb move on the part of the US. It will never happen.
After Pakistan turns into a Western (especially American) hating Islamic Republic we probably won’t even get a thank you for the huge debts we initially forgave them, providing them with advanced modern military weapon systems, and lots of borrowed money (from China, Japan, Saudi Arabia) given to Pakistan the American taxpayer will eventually be responsible for paying back — all courtesy of the Bush NeoCons/Republicans and the Obama CommieComs/Democrats.
There’s no “after”. Pakistan has always hated us.
Some people high up apparently never read their Machiavelli. ” WHENEVER those states which have been acquired as stated have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom, there are three courses for those who wish to hold them: the first is to ruin them, the next is to reside there in person, the third is to permit them to live under their own laws”. Ten minutes with “The Prince” could have saved us untold bullshit.
I haven’t read Machiavelli for a long time. Think I’ll re-read it. Thanks.
We developed ICBMs so we wouldn’t have to deal with crap like this.
The Founders called for America to be ‘friends with all and allies with none’ and to avoid foreign entanglements. Realistically, such visions are not probable in the extreme. However, American behavior internationally whether cultural, economic, political, and military around the world is the behavior of an imperialistik empire and not that of a moral democratik republik. Once again, big intrusive faskist government has created more problems for the common man and then government claims it has the solutions. The national focus on supporting the huge mulitary-industrual-intellugence complex is contributing to destroying our currency and helping turn America into a police state.
+1k
It’s about time our military figured it had to do something.
Trying to train them is an uphill battle. Better to train the trainers and them get out. We can not baby sit their country for ever and we haven’t even tried to stop the heroin trade which fuels the Taliban. I just don’t get it.
We need to get out now and let it be.
I am not an isolationist but even my Russian friend was wondering why Erica hasn’t learned from history.
I have different ideas about Sryia and Iran, but needless to say the time and effort we have spent there in the end will change nothing. We ate repeating a doomed history.
-Encyclopedia Americana, 2050
“One of the conclusions which can be drawn from the actions of Operation Enduring Freedom is that , in the latter years of the second decade of the 21st century the bare incompetence of the American military’s senior Officer Corps became the largest threat to America’s security.”
We need a “Like” button………..
My boss’ friend was killed last week by an Afghan he was patrolling with. The guy turn right around and shot him in the chest. Good men are dying for no reason.
My son did two infantry tours in Iraq..I am sooo glad he is out of the army. WAY too much blood….too much blood in Afghanistan. There are some good people there (Read “Lone Survivor”) by Marcus Latterell.
Unfortunately that stone-age country will remain so long after we have all turned to dust. No need to waste any more precious young lives…it will not change.
The populace is ignorant – meaning unlearned, not inherently stupid. Demagogues need the people ignorant and forever in their poor, wretched conditions to maintain control. That spark has to happen from within maybe with a little help from the outside. Usually that happens when people from a country go outside, return home, and see that all the poverty and corruption doesn’t have to be. They get fed up and push for change. The hold on these people has been so tight, and they been kept ignorant for so long, change will come at a slow pace if ever. See what they try to do in Iran, but the people have been exposed to Western ideas already. Only a few greedy, power hungry men – some of them clerics – keep the people of that country oppressed. Beware the fundamentalists for they are the most hypocritical and corrupt.
Senior echelons of the Military are so busy polishing their image and ass kissing to get the next rank that they do not have time to do their jobs.
Part of the problem is defining the problem, why are we training to our standard when they have their own standards of loyalty, basically Family and Tribe; then tribal treaties,with long standing inter tribal animosities as well.
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