"Green on blue" attack toll in Afghanistan reaches 2,000

The US military toll from insider attacks rose to 2,000 after an attack Saturday in Wardak province that killed a US soldier and a contractor.  The two were apparently killed by a rogue member of the Afghan security forces.

Not only has the death toll rose to 2,000, but such attacks are now the biggest killer of foreign military forces in Afghanistan. Provincial government spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told the AP an Afghan soldier turned his gun on the Americans and started shooting, killing the two foreign forces along with three Afghan army soldiers.

The deaths followed a "verbal dispute" during a joint operation.

Attacks against US and coalition military forces by Afghan police, security, and military personnel increased sharply this year. The development threatens to undermine America's Afghanistan strategy, in which foreign forces work directly with and train their Afghan counterparts to "step up" following US withdrawal, scheduled for the end of 2014.  The United States has cut back on its training missions, for a time halting them completely as recruits were re-vetted.

Hundreds of Afghan soldiers were dismissed after the US halted training missions following an inquiry.

The attacks are also forcing US soldiers on the defensive. The military implemented a "guardian angels" plan, in which foreign military personnel would remain armed and ready for attack during all interactions with their Afghan counterparts.  The increasingly defensive stance--and the ill will that inevitably emerges from interactions between the two sides in charged environment--will only make differences and grievances worse.  It is difficult to see how Afghans will be able to be properly trained to "step up" when such distrust and animosity holds between both sides.

The plan for withdrawal also depends on a contingent of foreign trainers remaining on the ground for years to come.  

"Green-on-blue" attacks now biggest killer of NATO troops

More NATO troops are killed by rogue Afghan soldiers and police turning weapons against their trainers than declared enemies.  The uptick of insider attacks marks a worrying turn for ISAF officials as they prepare to wind up the Afghanistan mission.

In response, the US military halted training of Afghan government-backed militias for a month in order to re-vet recruits after the wave of attacks. A spokesman for the military coalition said there is no set date for the resumption of training of the local police.

Afghanistan's military announced today that it arrested or expelled hundreds of soldiers in a bid to stop the attacks.

An August 28 attack in which a man in an Afghan army uniform killed three Australian soldiers and wounded two in the southern province of Uruzgan brought the total number of NATO personnel killed by "green-on-blue" attacks to fifteen for the month of August.  Nearly one in three international coalition deaths were caused by Afghan allies last month.

International forces said there have been 34 insider attacks this year, and 12 in August alone, resulting in the deaths of 45 international troops.  ISAF claims the majority of attacks are one-offs, fueled by personal disagreements and cultural differences, but the frequency of the attacks hints at a larger problem.

Much of the alliance's war strategy relies on close cooperation between foreign and Afghan troops, with the foreigners as trainers and the Afghans expected to take responsibility after NATO's departure at the end of 2014.   The military is attempting to cut back on the attacks through a "Guardian Angels" program, in which one or two armed ISAF troops would monitor all Afghans during each mission and meeting.  These angels will be prepared to fire on anyone who tries to kill a coalition service member, according to the New York Times. In a bit of an understatement, General John Allen, ISAF Commander, said, "There is an erosion of trust that has emerged from [the attacks]."

Mid-level Talib shows up to collect bounty....on himself

From the Washington Post:

By Kevin Sieff

 Sometimes, capturing a Taliban commander requires vast resources and complex operations. Last week in eastern Afghanistan, it hinged on an insurgent’s “improbable stupidity,” as one U.S. official put it.

Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban commander in Paktika province, strolled toward a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza with a wanted poster bearing his own face. He demanded the finder’s fee referenced on the poster: $100.

 Ashan's want ad.

 

Afghan officials, perplexed by the man’s misguided motives, arrested him on the spot. Ashan is suspected of plotting at least two attacks on Afghan security forces. His misdeeds prompted officials to plaster the district with hundreds of so-called “Be on the Lookout” posters emblazoned with his name and likeness.
 When U.S. troops went to confirm that Ashan had in fact come forward to claim the finder’s fee, they were initially incredulous.
 “We asked him, ‘Is this you?’ Mohammad Ashan answered with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, ‘Yes, yes, that’s me! Can I get my award now?’” recalled SPC Matthew Baker.
 A biometric scan confirmed that the man in Afghan custody was the insurgent they had been looking for.
 “This guy is the Taliban equivalent of the ‘Home Alone” burglars,” one U.S. official said.
 Wanted posters are often distributed by NATO forces, but rarely have such a direct impact on the apprehension of an insurgent. In restive Paktika province, civilians are typically afraid to pass on intelligence that might lead to an arrest. And insurgents tend to shy away from the urban centers where they’re being hunted, particularly while carrying evidence of their own transgressions.
 Officials have guessed at what the unusual details of Ashan’s arrest might tell us about the state of the insurgency — its desperation, its lack of resources, its defiance of law and order.
 But, for now, the consensus has landed on the singularity of Ashan’s act, and the intellectual calculus that led to it.
 “Clearly,” one U.S. official said, “the man is an imbecile.”

US Soldier on Quran burning: It’s like the perfect storm of ignorant jackassery

Below are excerpts from a blog posting from a soldier currently based in Afghanistan. I thought it was incredibly poignant and well-written. He emphasizes the frustration felt by many in uniform over the willful ignorance and blovating of US politicians, the incredulity of how it's possible we didn't know burning the Quran would cause such a backlash, and the increasing isolation felt by our men and women in uniform who sense the lack of support from the American people for their efforts.


It's definitely worth reading in full.

…I read the comments on the news stories on dozens of outlets both liberal and conservative.  They blame the Afghans for the violence.  They cannot understand how a book can be worth the loss of lives, especially American lives.  They cry out in rage for our immediate withdrawal, as if their moral outrage is now an excuse for wholesale abandonment… failure… in an effort they have grown weary of and no longer… as if they ever did… understand.    Our moral compass has no point upon it where an idea, much less the physical repository for that idea, is worth lethal outrage.   They throw rocks and burn tires.   We throw comments and flame those who dissent.   It’s as much as we can care about anything.  

Of course, we have those in our country who will destroy property and endanger lives over the outcome of a sporting event, but that’s usually a local affair and not a national outburst. 

Of all the things one could do in this country with the demonstrated potential to cause such outbursts, burning the Quran tops the list.   We have inadvertently bombed weddings and suffered only a fraction the outrage that disrespecting the religion, even if “inadvertently,” has caused.   If there were one thing to avoid doing in this entire country, burning the Quran would be it.  We spend literally tens of thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars to avoid causing civilian casualties… as well we should… in order to attain our exceedingly poorly stated goals.  Yet we cause more chaos in ten minutes of book burning.   We can blame the Afghans all day, we can talk about how most of them can’t even read the book that was burned, we can spout off about hypocrisy and curse them as a backwards people.  

It solves nothing.   All we are doing is feeding the insurgents.  

How does it feel?  Frustrating.  

It’s frustrating to know that after ten-plus years, about a quarter of which I have been personally present, we still don’t have the discipline to not make such “mistakes.”   To us, burning a book by “accident” is an understandable mistake.  But in a country where our enemy is constantly telling the people that we are here to destroy Islam it may serve to some as confirmation, turning a skeptical observer into a rock-throwing rioter.   In this country, piety is respected as much as education, regardless of literacy.  It is a moral value…  

Our people took a careless action with the one thing that could possibly inspire such widespread rage, and over 30 people are dead, four of them Americans.   It’s like the perfect storm of ignorant jackassery… It is still an example of inexcusable ignorance of the environment in which you are operating.  That, my friends, is a clear sign of a lack of discipline, of attention to detail in what is important in this particular mission.  

The Afghans did not burn the books and blame us for it.  We did it; and we freaking knew better.    

It’s not like we didn’t know this type of thing had the capacity for such a nasty reaction when not even one year ago we saw such outrage when that “Christian preacher” in Florida decided to commit homicide by YouTube.  It is THE red button that you don’t press in this country.   My judging the red button to be inappropriate, backwards or hypocritical does not alter the value system here, and we are the ones who are seeking to gain security by working to stabilize Afghanistan.  Making the strong appearance of attacking their value system at its core does not help them to edge towards progress.  Following it up with a vitriolic reaction to their anger does not help me to avoid the problem in the future, only to feel justified in continuing to ignore and disregard the values of those I would help.  

With many of my veteran friends and 99% of all citizens who bother to leave a comment on a news site raging about how these people are barbarians and not worth our time and effort… and with months to go on my third tour… how do I feel?  

Isolated.  Outcast.  Alone…  

We have lost our national will to the point that the troops over here sense it.   It’s an underlying feeling, a sensing more than a feeling… that whatever we do, it doesn’t matter…  

If our efforts and sacrifices are not made… and sold… in the intelligent pursuit… the purchase… of sensible and well-stated goals and outcomes that favor the United States for not just an election cycle but for the following decades, then they are being sold cheaply.  This I resent with all my heart and soul…