The Afghans say the Americans attacked by mistake. The Americans say the Afghan soldiers attacked them first.
All I can say is: What a clusterfark Afghanistan has become.
Afghan officials said that the clash on Saturday was a misunderstanding and that the Americans apparently attacked an Afghan National Army unit in error. A top coalition officer said the Americans were attacked first in what might possibly have been an insurgent attack. Nonetheless, he expressed regret for what ensued.
An initial statement from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, commonly referred to as ISAF, on Sunday described the episode as “a suspected insider attack,” which killed a foreign soldier and a civilian contractor. If so, that would bring to 53 the number of coalition forces killed in the so-called insider attacks this year.
Whatever happened, the episode clearly was another in a series of setbacks this year, and particularly in the last month, in relations between the American and Afghan militaries. It comes at a delicate moment, when all of the American surge reinforcements have only recently left the country, and NATO has been trying to transfer ever greater responsibility to a growing Afghan military.
[...]
The Wardak provincial police chief, Abdul Qayoum Baqizoi, said the fight broke out when an Afghan soldier among seven soldiers at the checkpoint opened fire on the Americans; in the ensuing gun battle, three Afghan soldiers were killed, including the one who fired first. “We still don’t have a clear picture of what happened,” Mr. Baqizoi said. He quoted the lone Afghan soldier who was unhurt as saying, “ ‘I heard some noise and verbal argument and suddenly heard the shooting and then one of the coalition soldiers threw a hand grenade so I fled from the checkpost and hid myself behind our Humvee.’ ”
Significantly, according to Afghan officials, the American unit, which was relatively small in size and manning a temporary checkpoint in the Sayid Abad district, was not partnered with Afghan forces. The unit was conducting a biometric survey, in which details like fingerprints and eye scans are gathered from the local population, often at temporary checkpoints, in an effort to screen for insurgents.
When American soldiers are almost in as much danger from supposed “allies” as they are from the enemy, some kind of basic re-assessment of what we are doing assisting these people must be done. Afghan soldiers have killed more Americans since the beginning of the year than al-Qaeda. Why should we continue this charade?
The war in Afghanistan has slipped so far off the radar that the incompetence with which it is being conducted is lost on the voting public. This letter from a soldier serving in Afghanistan to his father on Michael Yon’s site should be in a Romney campaign commercial:
I am fed up. I cannot believe the lack of attention the recent changes in this war is receiving by the media or the country. I think I saw one thing on CNN about the following subject, but I had to dig extensively to find it. The purpose of this letter is to let you know of the garbage that our soldiers are going through right now. With this knowledge, I hope that you take action by writing your congressmen.
First, because of the recent green on blue incidents or “insider threats” as the new buzz phrase dictates, all coalition forces in Afghanistan have completely stopped partnering with the ANA (Afghan national army), AUP (Afghan uniform police), and ALP (Afghan local police) in order to prevent the death of anymore CF (coalition forces) casualties by ANSF (Afghan national security forces) or Taliban disguised as them. This is also greatly spurred by President Karzi’s indifferent attitude and lack of action to take measures to prevent further insider attacks.
Second, because of this massive change in policy (and complete change in mission) all U.S. forces are forbidden to actively patrol their AO (area of operations) and are to remain on their respective COPs/FOBs (combat outpost/forward operating base). There are only a few exceptions to this rule and they all pertain to “hardening” highway 1 in our AO. We have received orders that clearly state that all CF will no longer be allowed to drop air to ground munitions within the country of Afghanistan. This preempts Karzi’s announcement that will be made shortly that states the above mentioned order, making it a tactical directive that he is ordering.
[...]
I don’t think that the American citizens would be happy if they knew that their soldiers were being prohibited from defending themselves in any way because of politically driven orders, but that is precisely what is happening in this war right now even as I write this letter. The soldiers of the U.S. never engage the enemy unless we know that we have will always have the tactical advantage in defending ourselves, that advantage is the use of close air support and air weapons team. To take those weapons away from us is to level the playing field for the enemy and thus exposing our soldiers to more danger. In the school house they teach us that the minimum ratio that we are to engage the enemy with, is a 3:1 ratio. In other words, we have the highest probability of winning because we don’t fight fair. The sound tactical principles behind this teaching have saved lives. The very presence of aircraft over our foot patrols has also saved lives and now our chain of command is being told by our political leadership that this is now not allowed. If we are not partnering with the ANSF and we are not actively patrolling to prevent our enemies from massing their attacks on our COP and we can’t drop a bomb on the enemy that we have positively identified, than what the hell are we doing here?
A good question, brave soldier. A good question.
This deliberate positioning of our men as fish in a barrel should remove any lingering doubts about whose side Obama is on.
He’s just leading our generals from behind.
If I were on the ground in Afghanistan I would have revolted far before this.
I don’t even blame Obambus for this, but I do blame the joint chiefs, who should never have put up with it.
Obviously, this is nonsense. After all, Afghanistan is the Central front on Terror. It is priority #1!
/s
BOHICA! Afghan up and shoots at “infidels” is his country and it’s an “Amercan mistake,” my butt.
P.S. And when green isn’t attacking blue… (not safe for work due to F-bomb crudity)…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMZsBX5g1ZI
Now now, according to the President the tide of war is receding, we won, and your mission is to be the last man alive out of Afghanistan. Of course, it’s equally possible the tide of war is encroaching, the Taliban are winning, the President is delusional, and you’re expected to die with your boots on for the President. You might want to consider dressing up like Mash’s Corporal Clinger in drag and transition to a female: remember, gender is just a social construct. Out of 3149 military deaths in Afghanistan only 42 were females, and the girls get paid the same as the guys. Hey, going for a sex change to reduce you exposure sure beats “fragging” your officers or shooting yourself in the foot with an accidental discharge, and thanks to congress claiming gay will no longer work.
My youngest was an infantryman, carried a SAW, and did a turn at a FOB south of Kandahar. When it came time for him to re-up, I encouraged him to get out even though he liked the Army and was doing well. I told him it was evident that the Democrats were going to win, at the time I was betting on HRC winning, and if he stayed in he’d be in some Hellhole with an empty weapon and a JAG on his shoulder. He got out and I hate to have been so right. God help the troops over there.
That the people of America care so very little about America’s troops as to collectively allow our government to keep them in Afcrapistan, losing life and limb and being forced by their sick in the head generals, who care not one wit about them, to bow and scrape to Muslims and Islam, with almost suicidal ROE on top of it all, so as not to hurt the ‘feelings’ of Muslims, our “Partners in Peace” as our islamophile/’Noble People Of Afghanistan” generals call them, in what can truthfully only be described as a Trillion Dollar Bridge To Nowhere, paved with the lives and limbs of America’s troops, is a national disgrace.
“When American soldiers are almost in as much danger from supposed “allies” as they are from the enemy, some kind of basic re-assessment of what we are doing assisting these people must be done. Afghan soldiers have killed more Americans since the beginning of the year than al-Qaeda. Why should we continue this charade?”
As far as I know al-Qaeda has killed none in Afcrapistan this year. There are virtually no al-Qaeda left in Afcrapistan. There are probably more in Dearborn, Michigan.
Why do “we” continue? Because the building formally known as the Pentagon has become a G-d damned mega mosque whore house of servicing Muslims. The Perfumed Pimps there masquerading as Generals have no regard for America and it’s Constitution or the lives and limbs of their own troops and they are all out sons-of-#itches, traitors, and chronic dhimmis.
Human sacrifice 21st Century American style.
It would seem the Aztec High Priests of the 15th century have been reincarnated and are now in full reign at the building some still call the Pentagon.
America’s Generals are now very much like the Aztec High Priests of many centuries ago. The main difference, and it’s a relatively small one, is that instead of continually sacrificing what they regarded as their excess and disposable human property to the Sun God to try to gain benevolence and avoid wrath, America’s Generals keep trying to sacrifice America’s Constitution, and do sacrifice more and more of the lives and limbs of America’s troops, whom they regard as their excess and disposable human property, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars of America’s rapidly shrinking treasure, which although itself is of much lesser importance is still no small matter, to the gods they reverently call “The Prophet Mohammad”, “The Holy Qur’an” and “The Noble People Of Afghanistan and their Noble Muslim Culture” to try to gain benevolence and avoid wrath, and maybe even get an extra star and another few assorted colorful baubles for which to adorn themselves.
Is our military fighting for anything most Americans would regard as at all decent in Afghanistan? Certainly not our Army, nor our Marines. America’s Generals have repeatedly ordered them to respect the gods they call “The Prophet Mohammad”, “The Holy Qur’an” and “The Noble People Of Afghanistan and their Noble Muslim Culture” and if American troops get shot to death by what their Generals call their Partners in Peace, then the Generals conclude that America’s derelict and sacrilegious troops must not have respected the gods they call “The Prophet Mohammad”, “The Holy Qur’an” and “The Noble People Of Afghanistan and their Noble Muslim Culture” nearly enough and order them to take still more religious and cultural “sensitivity” training so they can better respect the Noble Muslim Culture of the Noble People of Afghanistan, maybe even enough where they can start joining in the practicing of that Noble Muslim Culture themselves, which would no doubt delight the Generals to no end.
There of course is never any “sensitivity” training ever even recommended for what America’s Generals call “The Noble People Of Afghanistan” so they might better understand and appreciate Western and American culture. But then as America’s Generals clearly must regard the Noble Muslim Culture of the Noble People of Afghanistan as being far superior to Western and American culture, they would surely regard any such thing as, well, absolutely unthinkable, and blasphemous, and upon hearing any such suggestion would no doubt order even more “sensitivity” training.
* Mainstream Noble People of Afghanistan Muslim Culture includes child rape of both young girls and young boys, torturing dogs including puppies, total enslavement of women, stoning women to death for being raped, and death to apostates, which itself covers a whole lot, just to very briefly mention a few of the highlights.
American troops are even suppose to just stand by while muslims torture dogs, including puppies. One might think that Michael Vick was the general running this Abomination in Afcrapistan.
And his homeboy, who relishes dog eating (or does he use relish with his dog…is it Heinz, perhaps?) can’t be bothered to attend his security meetings.
I tell you, he isn’t the President. He is the stand in for the people really running things. They wouldn’t let such an idiot within 1000 miles of the real controls. And Valerie Jarret is their bitch on the inside. That’s why she has a full Secret Service detail. They NEED her. Ostupidhead? Not so much.
“Go play golf, little Obimski. Try not to hurt yourself. We really don’t want Biden in your role. He can’t even find the teleprompter! How would we tell him what to say?”
I think it’s Bill Ayers, financed by Soros (and you, of course). When we failed to execute Ayers for treason in the ’60s, all was already lost. He and his Nazi collaborator buddy set the whole thing up, with the aid of the most corrupt political system in America, Chicago.
I submit that this theory is as well sourced as any MSM report, whatsoever, that you will hear on the Evening News. I made it up. I have no proof. But, at least mine doesn’t fly in the face of logic, and therefore, MIGHT be correct. I also used a much more reliable source: the voices inside my head (instead of the lying Carney and his ilk, who wouldn’t know the truth if it bit them from behind. Baghdad Bob ain’t in it!).
Not like their fables, which wouldn’t even pass the laugh test at the Grimm Bros. publishing house.
I am so pissed off right now i cannot write coherently. later