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In reply to the discussion: Overheard Yesterday... "Gee, It's Too Bad Nobody At Fort Hood Had Any Weapons To Stop The [View all]WillyT
(72,631 posts)20. Alright... Though I Think You Missed The Forest For The Trees... Let's Talk Afghanistan...
A warzone... most weapons/firearms probably loaded and carried...
And yet...
From 1/20/12:
American soldiers training Afghan police officers in 2010. A report cites growing friction between the ostensible allies. - Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times
But the most troubling fallout has been the mounting number of Westerners killed by their Afghan allies, events that have been routinely dismissed by American and NATO officials as isolated episodes that are the work of disturbed individual soldiers or Taliban infiltrators, and not indicative of a larger pattern. The unusually blunt report, which was prepared for a subordinate American command in eastern Afghanistan, takes a decidedly different view. The Wall Street Journal reported on details of the investigation last year. A copy was obtained by The New York Times.
Lethal altercations are clearly not rare or isolated; they reflect a rapidly growing systemic homicide threat (a magnitude of which may be unprecedented between allies in modern military history), it said. Official NATO pronouncements to the contrary seem disingenuous, if not profoundly intellectually dishonest, said the report, and it played down the role of Taliban infiltrators in the killings.
The coalition refused to comment on the classified report. But incidents in the recent past where Afghan soldiers have wounded or killed I.S.A.F. members are isolated cases and are not occurring on a routine basis, said Lt. Col. Jimmie E. Cummings Jr. of the Army, a spokesman for the American-led International Security Assistance Force. We train and are partnered with Afghan personnel every day and we are not seeing any issues or concerns with our relationships.
The numbers appear to tell a different story. Although NATO does not release a complete tally of its forces deaths at the hands of Afghan soldiers and the police, the classified report and coalition news releases indicate that Afghan forces have attacked American and allied service members nearly three dozen times since 2007.
Two members of the French Foreign Legion and one American soldier were killed in separate episodes in the past month, according to statements by NATO. The classified report found that between May 2007 and May 2011, when it was completed, at least 58 Western service members were killed in 26 separate attacks by Afghan soldiers and the police nationwide. Most of those attacks have occurred since October 2009. This toll represented 6 percent of all hostile coalition deaths during that period, the report said.
Lethal altercations are clearly not rare or isolated; they reflect a rapidly growing systemic homicide threat (a magnitude of which may be unprecedented between allies in modern military history), it said. Official NATO pronouncements to the contrary seem disingenuous, if not profoundly intellectually dishonest, said the report, and it played down the role of Taliban infiltrators in the killings.
The coalition refused to comment on the classified report. But incidents in the recent past where Afghan soldiers have wounded or killed I.S.A.F. members are isolated cases and are not occurring on a routine basis, said Lt. Col. Jimmie E. Cummings Jr. of the Army, a spokesman for the American-led International Security Assistance Force. We train and are partnered with Afghan personnel every day and we are not seeing any issues or concerns with our relationships.
The numbers appear to tell a different story. Although NATO does not release a complete tally of its forces deaths at the hands of Afghan soldiers and the police, the classified report and coalition news releases indicate that Afghan forces have attacked American and allied service members nearly three dozen times since 2007.
Two members of the French Foreign Legion and one American soldier were killed in separate episodes in the past month, according to statements by NATO. The classified report found that between May 2007 and May 2011, when it was completed, at least 58 Western service members were killed in 26 separate attacks by Afghan soldiers and the police nationwide. Most of those attacks have occurred since October 2009. This toll represented 6 percent of all hostile coalition deaths during that period, the report said.
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/world/asia/afghan-soldiers-step-up-killings-of-allied-forces.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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Overheard Yesterday... "Gee, It's Too Bad Nobody At Fort Hood Had Any Weapons To Stop The [View all]
WillyT
Dec 2012
OP
To Be Fair... It Was A Liberal Who Said This... On The Irony And Absurdity Of The NRA Position...
WillyT
Dec 2012
#9
Didn't Backfire In This Case... Most People At This Meet-Up Nodded In Agreement...
WillyT
Dec 2012
#25
It's the trying to be clever/snarky/sarcastic/failed attempt at humor that made it backfire.
-..__...
Dec 2012
#27
Yeah... And Your "Facts" Do Nothing But Muddle The Issue... Do YOU Really Want Armed Guards At
WillyT
Dec 2012
#28
It still works, even under the ROEs - there were plenty of armed and loaded MPs on that base.
leveymg
Dec 2012
#33
Somewhere on base there are MP's, yes, just like somewhere in any town there are cops
Recursion
Dec 2012
#42
Alright... Though I Think You Missed The Forest For The Trees... Let's Talk Afghanistan...
WillyT
Dec 2012
#20
Stateside the weapons are locked up in in an arms room most of the time
Crabby Appleton
Dec 2012
#16
Shooter opened fire in area where he knew soldiers not allowed to have loaded weapons.
Honeycombe8
Dec 2012
#43