|
US moves to end 'insider' killings
AFTER months of military leaders' attempts to curb killings of coalition troops by the Afghan forces serving beside them, US general John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, called an urgent meeting of his generals last week to address the rising death toll after the killing of six US Marines trainers on August 10.In a series of recent steps, the military decreed that US and NATO service members should always carry a loaded magazine in their weapons. Another initiative is a program dubbed ''Guardian Angel'' that calls for one or two soldiers to monitor the Afghans during every mission or meeting, officials say. The ''angels'', whose identities are not disclosed to the Afghans, must be prepared to fire on anyone who tries to kill a coalition service member. The military has also analysed the so-called ''green on blue'' attacks, discovering that only a handful have clearly been due to Taliban activity - a worrying development that suggests a malaise within the Afghan forces that raises the risk that personal rivalries and cultural clashes could complicate the NATO training program. The ''insider attacks'' come at a politically delicate time, just months before a US presidential election and amid increasingly vocal complaints from parents of dead marines and soldiers that could diminish support among Americans for what is already an unpopular war. In the 48 hours after General Allen's emergency session, there were two more such attacks. Those assaults left two Special Forces trainers dead and two other US soldiers wounded. Posted by: tipper 2012-08-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=350477 |