Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
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| Afghanistan |
| Time is running out for for NATO in Afghanistan |
| 2016-04-08 |
| [Reuters] Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Chung, leading a team of U.S. advisers in Helmand province to help train the Afghan army's embattled 215th Corps, knows he does not have much time. If Washington sticks to its schedule for withdrawing troops, by the time his tour ends in November, the NATO training mission in Afghanistan will be nearing its end, despite local forces struggling to fight the Taliban insurgency alone. "There is still much work to do," said Chung, a veteran of several Afghan tours, speaking at Sorab base, a dusty expanse of blast walls and wire fences in Helmand. "You have to adjust your expectations," he told Reuters during a recent visit to the base in the southern province, where Taliban militants, bent on overthrowing the government and driving out foreign forces, made major gains in recent months. Corruption and issues like irregular leave due to heavy fighting and pay have undermined efficiency and hurt morale among local troops. He has seen progress since arriving in February but remains realistic: "We understand we're not going to be able to fix all that." As things stand, U.S. forces in Afghanistan are due to be nearly halved to 5,500 from the current level of 9,800 by the start of 2017. At that level, U.S. officials say the training mission would not be able to continue. But the timetable is coming under scrutiny, as the new U.S. commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan conducts a review of security before making recommendations to Washington some time in June. General John Nicholson recently told Reuters that heavy fighting and casualties in 2015 had meant the training mission was behind schedule. NATO commanders say big strides have been made by fledgling Afghan security forces, built virtually from scratch since the Taliban was toppled from power in 2001. But the sharp escalation in casualties and territorial losses in 2015, the first year Afghan forces fought without combat support from NATO, has underlined the risks involved in having only 5,500 U.S. soldiers in the country. Afghan officials say forces lack vital resources including close air support, which the small local air force cannot yet provide at anything like the levels NATO could, as well as expertise in areas like maintenance and logistics. "Those capabilities are still under development and there is a lot more work needed," Acting Defence Minister Masoom Stanekzai said on a recent visit to the Afghan 215th Corps headquarters at Sorab. "We need international assistance." FROM DEFENSE TO OFFENsE One of the biggest challenges Chung said he faced was trying to change the mindset of Afghan soldiers, as NATO pushes them to be more offensive in operations against the Taliban. 'Changing the Islamic mindset'.... good luck with that Colonel. "They'd go out to a certain area, and the first thing they'd do is ... build a checkpoint. From that point on, they'd become very stationary," he said, describing how local forces tended to operate. 'Build a checkpoint'......just pay the toll and no one will get hurt. Chung and his team are among around 500 U.S. troops dispatched to bolster 215th Corps, a reflection of international alarm at how Helmand security had deteriorated early in 2016. The training, mainly by Afghan officers backed up by U.S. mentors, covers everything from battle tactics to driving, vehicle maintenance, equipment care and bomb disposal. 'U.S. mentors'... read that contractors. Got to keep the 'boots on the ground' numbers down you know. "At some point, there's going to be an end-date on this," Chung said. "We're here to help them build something that they can sustain and manage." Yes LTC Chung, it's called The Second Coming. Could happen any day now, or much, much later. But U.S. officials acknowledge that the task has been complicated by problems including corruption among some officers that undermined confidence and morale. "If you don't know someone higher up in the army, all your benefits go to soldiers who know army officials," said Darweza Khan, a 215th Corps soldier serving in Gereshk district. A spokesman for the "Resolute Support" training mission said earlier this year that several senior officers in the 215th Corps had been replaced for graft that led to soldiers not being adequately looked after and supplies and equipment being stolen. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #5 How about teaching camels to scale 25 foot high walls? |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2016-04-08 15:53 |
| #4 With all due respect to our people who served over there: Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2016-04-08 13:26 |
| #3 We altered over two hundred years (plus) of Japanese and German militarism. And that was only accomplished because the people themselves were tired of the military-based society and wanted something more human. |
| Posted by: gorb 2016-04-08 12:22 |
| #2 'Changing the Islamic mindset'.... good luck with that Colonel. Were that the case, the Taliban would be equally incompetent. Since they're not, it's must be something else. Say an "Afghan/Pashtun" mindset where anything larger than tribe-to-tribe warfare is incomprehensible? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-04-08 12:09 |
| #1 'Changing the Islamic mindset'.... good luck with that Colonel. We altered over two hundred years (plus) of Japanese and German militarism. Of course, that require a war that didn't involve incrementalism, a legion of lawyers, or a kinder gentler approach in dealing with miscreants. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-04-08 09:55 |