Three US Troops Killed by Afghan Military Imposter
Another event has occurred in Afghanistan where US troops were ambushed by opposition forces dressed in official Afghan uniforms.
In this latest incident a man in an Afghan military uniform committed the act. He reportedly let loose a barrage of gunfire on troops in the Helmand province. The attack on the NATO troops is another of many such incidents. This type of attack is referred to as “Green on Blue” attacks.
The NATO coalition has been trying to fend off the attacks but it is very difficult as impersonation is far too easy. The uniforms of the Afghan government soldiers are too easy to acquire and the ability of the enemy to infiltrate sensitive areas is equally as easy. Troops are on their toes trying to determine which is enemy or foe. There has to be some way of determining this but as of late it is proving to be a major difficulty.
It’s not known if it’s a lack of perimeter security or just part of the problem of doing business in Afghanistan as it is. No matter what the coalition forces do there is always going to be some risk. The levels of danger vary given the locations around the country but even then the dangers of these imposter attacks are still present.
The American public aren’t as aware of what goes on in Afghanistan as the war efforts there have been lessened. The media focuses more on problems in the Middle East with countries like Turkey and Egypt instead of Afghanistan so there is much confusion and dissent among Americans regarding the situation in Afghanistan. This is now more of a police situation in the country as the UN coalition faces new dangers and threats from an increasing Taliban surge.
President Obama has had US forces minimized as he wants to end the war but there are still thousands of US troops there and will remain for some time. This affords for an even greater danger as with so few troops the enemy can take advantage of it and gain new ground which is what has been happening. The Afghani government was supposed to step in and bridge the gap with its newly trained forces but it doesn’t look like they’re going to be able to handle the problem without international intervention. It is obvious the present model is not going to work. There can’t be just some troops there against an unyielding enemy. There has to be a greater international strategy to handle this problem but history has shown that the Taliban and it’s allies are not going to go away. They know that their forces can’t match the UN’s but they also know that they have the manpower to engage in such terrorist attacks that will plague the allied forces forever.
This is the main problem with the model at present. It’s not going to end and if the country is going to move into the 21st century it is going to have to face the problem with terrorism as the rest of the world is.
Greg Borne
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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