Topic: Afghan soldier kills four coalition troops: NATO

[PMedMoe]

Article Link

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan – A rogue Afghan army soldier killed four foreign troops in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, a NATO coalition spokesman said, adding to a string of similar shootings which have eroded trust between Afghan security forces and their Western allies.

An Afghan intelligence security source said four French soldiers were killed and 17 others wounded by an Afghan soldier in the Taghab valley of eastern Kapisa province. The gunman had been detained, the coalition spokesman added.

The shooting was the latest in a string of attacks by “rogue” Afghan soldiers and police on their foreign partners, or by insurgents who had infiltrated security forces.

Dozens of foreign soldiers have been killed in recent years by what NATO dubs the insider threat, complicating coalition efforts to train Afghanistan’s army and police force before foreign combat troops leave by the end of 2014.

More at link

[milnews.ca]

In the same vein, from the New York Times....

American and other coalition forces here are being killed in increasing numbers by the very Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train, in attacks motivated by deep-seated animosity between the supposedly allied forces, according to American and Afghan officers and a classified coalition report obtained by The New York Times.

A decade into the war in Afghanistan, the report makes clear that these killings have become the most visible symptom of a far deeper ailment plaguing the war effort: the contempt each side holds for the other, never mind the Taliban. The ill will and mistrust run deep among civilians and militaries on both sides, raising questions about what future role the United States and its allies can expect to play in Afghanistan.

Underscoring the danger, four French service members were killed and a number were wounded on Friday when a gunman wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon on them, according to an Afghan police official in Kapisa Province in eastern Afghanistan where the incident occurred and a Western official in Kabul, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The Afghan police official, Asdullah Hamidi, said the shooting happened in Tagab District, an area that is viewed as dangerous and dominated by insurgent forces.

The gunman is in custody, a NATO official said.

The violence, and the failure by coalition commanders to address it, casts a harsh spotlight on the shortcomings of American efforts to build a functional Afghan Army, a pillar of the Obama administration’s strategy for extricating the United States from the war in Afghanistan, said the officers and experts who helped shape the strategy ....

[GAP]

I loved this.....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16645251

President Nicolas Sarkozy said France was suspending its training programmes in Afghanistan following the attack.

He was sending his defence minister, Gerard Longuet, to the country "immediately," he said.

Mr Sarkozy said that the question of an early French withdrawal from Afghanistan would arise if security conditions were not re-established.

It was "unacceptable" for French troops to be fired on by their allies, he said.

[Journeyman]

"Mr Sarkozy said that the question of an early French withdrawal from Afghanistan would arise if security conditions were not re-established. Let there be no doubt; we are not in a war, but we are going to surrender anyway."

 

[Redeye]

At least one report - from Reuters I think - suggested that the French victims were unarmed. I'm stunned that they wouldn't have been carrying some means to defend themselves, given that green-on-blue incidents are known to happen.

[Baden Guy]

At least one report - from Reuters I think - suggested that the French victims were unarmed. I'm stunned that they wouldn't have been carrying some means to defend themselves, given that green-on-blue incidents are known to happen.

BBC video news report explains the incident and context.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16659291

[Redeye]

BBC video news report explains the incident and context.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16659291

Makes some sense, I guess, that they were on PT/sports.  What a tragedy. One has to wonder what started the argument/confrontation that had such a tragic outcome.

[ObedientiaZelum]

An afghan soldier committing murder to settle an argument? Why that's just unhead of!

[dogger1936]

Makes some sense, I guess, that they were on PT/sports.  What a tragedy. One has to wonder what started the argument/confrontation that had such a tragic outcome.

A minor correction on anything can turn into a personal insult to them. Being corrected in front of others can be enough for their honor to be damaged.

RIP to the french soldiers who died doing what their country wished of them.

[recceguy]

A minor correction on anything can turn into a personal insult to them. Being corrected in front of others can be enough for their honor to be damaged.

RIP to the french soldiers who died doing what their country wished of them.

I had one of my CF military language speakers take a local cell call to my office. Wrong number, whatever. One of those, "I don't know what he's saying, you take it". The head (local) terp heard him talking on the phone and lost his mind. We spent three days trying to calm the fool down.

[mariomike]

One has to wonder what started the argument/confrontation that had such a tragic outcome.

From what I have read, it does not take much:
http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php?topic=102300.msg1071244#msg1071244

[Redeye]

From what I have read, it does not take much:
http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php?topic=102300.msg1071244#msg1071244

It really doesn't. A lot of Op ATTENTION workup PD reading has focused on research into these sorts of incidents. A lot of them seem to be caused by things that are frankly ridiculously stupid on the part of the ISAF pers, but even still, it seems ridiculously petty through the optics of our understanding and ideas of the world.

[dogger1936]

I had one of my CF military language speakers take a local cell call to my office. Wrong number, whatever. One of those, "I don't know what he's saying, you take it". The head (local) terp heard him talking on the phone and lost his mind. We spent three days trying to calm the fool down.

It's a child like reaction to anything they can think of as an insult or attack on their honour. I can imagine you had a fun filled 3 days!

Their concept of honour is a strange thing that could deserve a topic alone.

[Tow Tripod]

The real question is if the withdrawal order could be expedited to a 90 day process? Don't get me wrong. I'm by no way a pacifist but we (the west ) have been nation building since about 2002. OBL is dead and if people are happy living in the 13th century then maybe it's Allah's will.
Let's just make sure that when their are no Western troops in Afghanistan that we leave the airspace full of fighters and UAV's to blow up any illegal gathering. I mean the Americans are already doing this in Somalia and Pakistan. What could be wrong with this option? We might even be able to break in the F-35's by then.

[Spectrum]

The real question is if the withdrawal order could be expedited to a 90 day process? Don't get me wrong. I'm by no way a pacifist but we (the west ) have been nation building since about 2002. OBL is dead and if people are happy living in the 13th century then maybe it's Allah's will.
Let's just make sure that when their are no Western troops in Afghanistan that we leave the airspace full of fighters and UAV's to blow up any illegal gathering. I mean the Americans are already doing this in Somalia and Pakistan. What could be wrong with this option? We might even be able to break in the F-35's by then.

You've got my vote. Now retire, and run for office please.

If they want the dark ages so badly, let them have it.

[Baden Guy]

France to Speed Troops’ Withdrawal from Afghanistan

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/world/europe/france-to-speed-afghan-withdrawal.html?_r=1&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimes&pagewanted=printed

France to Speed Troops’ Withdrawal from Afghanistan
By STEVEN ERLANGER
PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced Friday a significant acceleration of France’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying combat troops would leave a year early, by the end of 2013.

He increased this year’s withdrawal of troops from 600 to 1,000, and said that French troops would hand over security responsibility in one of its main areas of responsibility in Afghanistan, Kapisa Province, northeast of Kabul, beginning in March, and that he would press for NATO to accelerate its handover of primary security responsibilities as well.

Mr. Sarkozy’s announcements, including a statement that the level of Taliban infiltration in the Afghan Army “has been underestimated, ” came after a meeting here with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.

The moves followed an attack a week a go by a rogue Afghan soldier who opened fire on unarmed French troops embedded with Afghan forces on a training mission in Kapisa, killing four soldiers and wounding another 15, eight of them seriously. The case was a major blow in France, and came as Mr. Sarkozy faces a tough reelection campaign. His main rival for the presidency, the Socialist François Hollande, has promised to pull all French troops out by the end of this year, arguing just last Sunday that “our mission there is finished.”

Remainder of article at link.

[GAP]

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France just gave the Taliban a victory. Now they will move on to the other countries.....