Posted on 04/27/2011 5:13:56 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
KABUL, Afghanistan – Eight NATO service members and a contractor are dead after an Afghan military pilot opened fire on the foreign troops following a dispute at the airport in Kabul.
Wednesday's shooting was the deadliest incident in which a member of the Afghan security forces turned against coalition forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Before the airport shooting, the coalition had recorded 20 incidents since March 2009 where a member of the Afghan security forces or someone wearing a uniform used by them attacked coalition forces, killing a total of 36. It is not known how many of the 282,000 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in these type of incidents.
According to information compiled by NATO, half of the 20 incidents involved the impersonation of an Afghan policeman or soldier. The cause of the other 10 incidents were attributed to combat stress or unknown reasons. NATO said that so far, there is no solid evidence — despite Taliban assertions — that any insurgent has joined the Afghan security forces for the sole purpose of conducting attacks on coalition or Afghan forces.
Ignoring the possibility of cover ups, that's 20 incidents in 24 months of active combat. Assuming there are additional conspirators (which in most instances there don't appear to be) we can multiply the 20 incidents by 4 and get 80 tangos in uniform.
80/282000 = 0.028% of total Afghani forces are a risk to our troops.
A very small number. Now, clearly our strategy and ROE in Afghanistan stink and are wasteful. A better strategy would be to withdraw the bulk of our forces and simply make ruling Afghanistan untenable for the Taliban. The Soviets did this and we can do it better and cheaper as measured in dollars and American lives.
Americans reduced to being only feckless, nameless NATO troops. Great cover for the huge Obama war death toll. Far worse than when Bush was running things.
Americans dying in a country that will never be anything other than it is now.
Since the US has no border protection and a muslim in the WH, just what the hell are these American’s dying for?
I suggested that in September 2001.
Launch 1 Minuteman III, with 3 RV’s.
2 live ones hit Afghan targets.
1 “test” vehicle hits Peshawar, PK, just to clear the den of thieves and send a strong message. (they won’t know it was an intentional dud.)
Oh...call Russian and China and tell them they aren’t the target, just prior to launch....
We need to leave because we’re not serious about winning and we’re letting good men die for nothing! Pull out...let the pigs wallow in their filth and if another attack is ever launched from there nuke them to hell and back!
It's one thing to have allies. Up to and including the Korean War we had allies, but we also had clearly defined enemies that could be pointed out on a map. “They control everything on that side of the line, we control this side.” We fought to move the line.
In Vietnam we had a clear enemy behind a defined line and refused to fight him there. So we ended up doing all the fighting behind our own line. The enemy infiltrated our allies and we could not trust them. That set the blueprint for almost every war since. The 1991 Gulf War was the exception. Saddam Hussein thought he could fight us over a line and he got crushed. The second time around they didn't make that mistake. The Iraqi army just melted away and we spent six bloody years fighting a guerrilla/terrorist war before there was a semblance of peace.
The leaders of Al qaida and the Taliban aren't uneducated goat herders. Their followers might be, but they aren't. They know about Vietnam, Somalia and Lebanon. They know how to defeat us. They use our inherent good nature against us. They know we want to trust and help the poor people of their country. They know we can't stomach the losses. They know our allies will melt away and our media will undermine our moral. They know our leaders are not single minded and focused.
Even if we win and set up some form of fairy tale democracy where women vote and there is a legislative body the people will just elect the next dictator. It is inevitable. Their religion and culture will not tolerate the independence of thought required for a free nation.
We have no Afghan allies. Oh, there are individuals and maybe small groups who truly believe, but for the most part they are chaff in the wind. Our only allies are those nations who feel the need to buy our protection at the cost of losing their own young men. And they will pay no more than the minimum because they see no victory or reward.
“if we were serious about winning it would have been over.”
You guys that say this are intentionally ignoring history, you don’t think that the Brits and the Russians weren’t serious about winning in this pest hole? Unless you want to depopulate the whole of Afghanistan of it’s native population there isn’t much that you can do to win, serious or not.
This is just my opinion, others with more experience or understanding may want to clarify and correct.
******
It is a very depressing but excellent observation of where we are on the spectrums of allies vs enemies, and victory vs defeat.
It would be depressing if we had a pro-American president, but since we also are suffering under a pro-globalist, anti-American-power president, we are in real jeopardy.
You joking me, right? The CIA and our forces are in their probably trying to help the rebels at the behest of Obama.
It's the Progressive way.
We should bomb them and leave. Just declare victory.
I feel so badly for the families of those troops.
My son is coming home Friday from Afghanistan, via Germany, on a stretcher. But at least he will be out of there and alive!
My family will be praying that his recovery and transition back to America will go well.
Thank you, we are lucky he is alive, and so is he.
Now if we can just give these kids back the country they should be able to expect when they return....
Oh yeah....that makes it similar to Vietnam....
My point is that it is Obama's War. Can you disagree with that?
This compassionate war about winning hearts and minds is bullchit!!!,Two problems these People have NO MIND or heart,so bring the troops home.
It won’t have the politcal baggage of Vietnam.
He and his lackies in the press will tell you that he’s out of Libya now.
“His War” does not make it comparable to Vietnam, which was my objection to the statement.
Yes. Get the hell out.
The Afghans do not deserve to be saved from their miserable fate. They do not want democracy. They do not want peace. they do not want individuals rights for women and religious minorities. They do not want to cease production of opium. Leave them to their own misery and reserve the right to make strikes on taliban and al qaeda encampments when necessary to disrupt their terrorist activities. Afghan simply cannot be fully occupied and placated. The Russians tried with forces far superior to that of the U.S. and using tactics far more brutal than the rules of engagement used by American troops. Let them fall back into abyss where they seem most at home.
Well said.
Maybe they do want Democracy.
By popular vote they will rape women and goats, behead the infidel and grow opium.
Oh I do love democracy the magic bullet!
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