Posted on 06/21/2010 3:12:48 AM PDT by Scanian
Torrents of uninteresting mail inundate members of Congress, but occasionally there are riveting communications, such as a recent e-mail from a noncommissioned officer serving in Afghanistan. He explains why the rules of engagement for US troops are "too prohibitive for coalition forces to achieve sustained tactical successes."
Receiving mortar fire during an overnight mission, his unit called for a 155mm howitzer illumination round to be fired to reveal the enemy's location. The request was rejected "on the grounds that it may cause collateral damage." The NCO says the only thing that comes down from an illumination round is a canister, and the likelihood of it hitting someone or something was akin to that of being struck by lightning.
Getty Targets: Marines gear up for a patrol in A'stan earlier this year.
Returning from a mission, his unit took casualties from an improvised explosive device that the unit knew had been placed no more than an hour earlier. "There were villagers laughing at the US casualties" and "two suspicious individuals were seen fleeing the scene and entering a home." US forces "are no longer allowed to search homes without Afghan National Security Forces personnel present." But when his unit asked Afghan police to search the house, the police refused on the grounds that the people in the house "are good people."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Obama is killing our troops!!!
That makes 35 KIA for the US just this month.
Include those who voted for Obama.
There's a good reason our warriors are younger ... we old farts would open up and sweep the street/town.
If an appeasing NCO or officer was in the path ... well ... it WOULD be too bad, but hey ... there's sometimes collateral damage.
I don’t think he cares.
We have met the enemy,We are sooooooo screwed.
and they are us.
rules of engagement for US troops are “too prohibitive for coalition forces to achieve sustained tactical successes.”
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I talked with one of the “boots on the ground” a few weeks ago. They wouldn’t even allow them to take out some guys that they watched plant multiple IEDs one night.
IMHO, Obama is sabotaging the war in Afghanistan. His rules of engagement are tantamount to treason.
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