US major general killed in “insider” attack by Afghan security
The most high-ranking US military officer killed so far in Afghanistan has been murdered in a so-called insider attack by an Afghan soldier. He was not the only one who was injured in the attack, either:
Gen. Mohammmad Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry, said a “terrorist in an army uniform” opened fire on both local and international troops. Azimi said the shooter had been killed and that three Afghan army officers were wounded.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that one American soldier was killed and “about a dozen” of the wounded were Americans, but declined to comment further…
A senior U.S. military official told Fox News that one of the dead was an ISAF service member and the shooting left a “significant number of wounded, both Americans and Afghans.”
This is one of the hazards of being in Afghanistan, because it has happened before, although no American of such high rank had previously been killed. Not all of the attacks got as much press as this one has, but “in 2013, there were 16 deaths in 10 separate ‘insider’ attacks. In 2012, such attacks killed 53 coalition troops in 38 separate attacks.”
Wonderful place, Afghanistan.
News flash. Those people are savages.
Republican candidates in 2016 need to be careful how they articulate the nation’s national security needs. A strong military necessary fo protecting the country is a separate issue than the now disproven idea of helping other nations leave the 7th century behind. This issue has the potential to split the party. Smearing people as isolationists because they don’t want to lose more blood and treasure on these primitive godforsaken people will be shortsighted and backfire on those attempting it.
Just because three-quarters of the deaths in Afghanistan have occurred on The Lightbringer’s watch is completely coincidental, racist.
It’s difficult to acquire enough local informants to stop these attacks, when the locals think America is on the side of the Taliban.
Of course, Obama’s Ft. Hood 1 and 2 probably got a lot of ideas into these sheep herders’ heads on what to do.
If American’s can’t win a 1 on 1 on their own turf and base, why would they think they should be scared of American bases in Afghanistan?
It’s a war with no front. Somewhat like Vietnam.
I may have written about this here before, but I remember my first in country brief very well. The essence of it was that we try to vet the Vietnamese, but basically we can’t know all of them are not VC. That was why we all carried our side arms 24/7. Knowing that anyone of the numerous Vietnamese on the air field might try to off you, tended to keep one alert to the situation at all times. There were many instances of VC sneaking into bases and killing people in spite of all that was done to avoid it. In such a war zone, there is no “rear” area.
My guess is that Afghanistan is much the same. Those that are there know it and accept it. It is unusual for a high ranking officer in that sort of war zone to be as vulnerable (they are usually in highly protected, heavily guarded areas) as the grunts and field grade officers, but as things are winding down, maybe he got careless. Or maybe he’s a gutsy general, like Patton, and just got unlucky.
The situation in Afghanistan (bho’s just war) has worsened since our genius CIC took the helm. Time to get out before more of our blood and treasure is wasted. Although in all fairness I never believed ‘nation building’ was possible in Iraq or Afghanistan because of the nature of islamic societies and the foreboding that our leaders and the general public were unwilling to do what would be required. Namely, different rules of engagement and a commitment to 20 to 30 years of occupation that would begin with10 years of strict US administered martial law where we dictated what sort of rule of law the conquered would be allowed to institute.
Everything about this is odd.
Without a doubt the US Army is revisiting its procedures.
Letting an Afghan loose with a machine gun in the company of ISAF generals… good grief.