Analyst's note: Absolutely must read and carefully consider. Having just read an article by U.S. General John Allen, (USMC) Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) entitled We can build a durable peace in Afghanistan I'm still sick. This guy disgraces the Marine Corps uniform as well as the memory of those Marines and Soldiers murdered by the hands of those he excuses. Where was this man when United States and Marine Corps history were being taught? If this kind of thought process displayed by Gen. Allen is allowed to stand, this country is truly finished! You don't believe me, then listen (video below) to this General's shameful explaination as to why so many of our American Warriors are being killed by the jihadists. Here is the data on the killings by the jihadists ... and the "General" can not figure it out.
Political correctness and the COIN "strategy" are still killing. Semper Fidelis.
To make matters worse, we find in The Wall Street Journal a report that indicates Allen will soon be promoted to NATO Supreme Allied Commander, and will be replaced in Afghanistan by General Joseph Dunford, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. This is the same General Allen who fails to understand one of the original enemies of this nation.
Danger Room reports:
[....] During the past several weeks, Afghan forces have turned their guns on the U.S. troops that mentor them with increasing frequency. The Afghan troops have killed at least 40 U.S. and allied forces this year, the most since the war began, and Karzai’s government insists the blame lies with Pakistani infiltrators, not Afghans themselves. Allen diplomatically said he was “looking forward to the Afghans providing us with the intelligence” they’re using to reach that conclusion.
But beyond that, Allen said his staff was still studying why the attacks have increased. One possible contributing factor: the holy month of Ramazan, which most of the Muslim world calls Ramadan. Although Ramazan is an annual event, it doesn’t occur at the same time annually on the western calendar, and this year it fell during the summer fighting season. The “daily pressures” of war and the “sacrifices associated with fasting,” especially with a larger and newer force of Afghan recruits, may have contributed to some Afghan forces snapping. When Danger Room pressed Allen on the role Ramazan may have played in the so-called “green-on-blue” attacks, Allen clarified that he wasn’t blaming Ramazan exclusively, and that U.S. forces working with Afghan units tried to time their operations closer to the mornings and evenings, so fasting Afghans wouldn’t be overly taxed. [....]
Allen said the key to turning the tide of the green-on-blue violence would be “the growing strength, every day, of the green and the blue.” What he didn’t say was that U.S. forces now carry loaded weapons at all times when dealing with their Afghan counterparts, should they need to defend themselves.
According to General John Allen, since 2007 no less than 52 American military personnel have been killed in Afghanistan by so called “green on blue” attacks. That is to say that Afghanistan’s security forces, police or military, turned their guns without warning on unsuspecting American soldiers and Marines – and killed them. No less than 70 Americans have been injured in these attacks. CNS has the report, which finds no fault with Islam for the killings:
(CNSNews.com) — Afghan Security Forces have killed at least 52 and wounded approximately 70 of their American counterparts since 2007 in what the military describes as “green on blue” attacks, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan told lawmakers last week.
U.S. Gen. John Allen, who commands the NATO-led coalition force in Afghanistan, testified about the situation in Afghanistan during a March 22 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
His testimony came amid growing tensions in Afghanistan prompted by a U.S. soldier allegedly killing 17 civilians, including women and children, on March 11 and American military personnel accidentally burning Korans at a military base on Feb. 20.
These incidents have prompted the killing of coalition forces by Afghan security forces and are considered “insider” attacks and officially labeled “green on blue” killings by the U.S. military.
At the hearing, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) asked Gen. Allen, “How many ISAF and American personnel have died as a result of green-on-blue attacks? And how many such attacks are still currently under investigation?”
“I’ll have to get you the final number on the numbers under investigation, but we’ve had 52 Americans who have been killed and another 60 or so — 68 — who have been wounded since 2007 when we first started to track these events,” responded the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
The number of “green on blue” fatal attacks may be greater given that the Afghanistan war has been raging since October 2001, but the Pentagon has only been keeping track of such deaths since May 2007.
Gen. Allen mentioned that of the 52 “green on blue” deaths since 2007, six have taken place “this calendar year” alone.
However, a seventh soldier was killed by Afghan security forces in February, but the Pentagon did not reveal the treachery, the Associated Press reported on March 16. That would bring the total of American deaths at the hands of their Afghan counterparts to 53.
When testifying about the state of the Afghanistan war before the House Armed Services Committee on March 21, Gen. Allen acknowledged that some of the “insider” killings have been fueled by the recent incidents that have undermined the U.S. mission, such as the unintentional burning of a few dozen Korans.
Media reports suggest that all “green on blue” killings of U.S. soldiers this year have taken place after the accidental burning of the Koran on Feb. 20.
Gen. Allen told the Senate panel on March 22 that “insider” attacks have not “tapered off.”
“I think that the measures that are being taken now, once they are in place, the measures that the [NATO-led coalition force] and U.S. forces that are undertaking, those, in combination, I believe, will begin the process of eliminating or reducing to the maximum extent possible the insider threat, as it is called,” he added.
Spoken like a true pogue.
The top-commander highlighted steps that U.S. and Afghanistan officials are taking to reduce the number of “insider” killings.
Afghanistan has “improved the vetting process of individuals who are coming into the Afghan national army and police with an eight-step vetting process, which includes a requirement to have a valid ID card, letters of endorsement or recommendation from village elders and other aspects, criminal background check and so on,” he said.
Gen. Allen said the eight-step vetting process has only been in place for “months,” without specifying how many months.
There is an “unprecedented level of cooperation” between the United States and Afghanistan “to embed counterintelligence agents from the NDS [U.S. National Defense Strategy] in basic training, in the basic training schools, the follow-on schools and, ultimately to have counterintelligence operatives working closely” with the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF), Gen. Allen testified.
In the beginning of February, before the U.S. soldier allegedly killed 17 Afghan civilians prompting the “insider” perpetrated deaths of Americans so far this year, Pentagon officials told the House Armed Services Committee that about 70 coalition soldiers from multiple countries have been fatal victims of “green on blue” attacks since 2007.
Since May 2007, there have been “42 green-on-blue events involving ANSF personnel and three (3) involving private security companies (PSC),” said the Pentagon.
“The attacks resulted in the deaths of approximately 70 coalition personnel and approximately 110 wounded.”
The Pentagon mentioned that the “green on blue” incidents are categorized as co-option, infiltration, impersonation, and personal.
“We assess the majority of insider attacks resulted from the personal motivation of the attacker,” stated the Pentagon. “The second most prevalent causes of insider attacks were impersonation and infiltration, with co-option attacks assessed as the least common. Some events remain undetermined because they are pending results of an ongoing investigation. The preferred method of insider attack was the use of small arms fire.”
Co-option is “when an existing ANSF [Afghan National Security Force] member is recruited to assist or act on behalf of the insurgency” and circumvents the screening and vetting process, noted the Pentagon.
According to CNSNews.com’s tally, at least 1,800 U.S. soldiers have been killed in and around Afghanistan since the war started in October 2001.
Afghan forces are expected to take over their country’s security responsibilities by the end of 2014. U.S. military officials have said that a residual American force will remain in the country beyond that point. However, the scope of that force has not been decided yet.
Given the current tensions, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has asked the United States to speed up its military withdrawal.
Nowhere in this report is the motivation for the attacks on American personnel by Afghani security forces attributed to Islam or jihad. That is truly nauseating.
John Allen has no business commanding American soldiers and Marines. He blames Americans for the attacks, for burning Korans that were confiscated from prisoners of war. The prisoners were using them to write notes to each other. And, in the style reminiscent of Muslim apologists and deniers invoking Timothy McVeigh’s name every time there’s a jihad attack on American soil, Allen somehow ties the killings of Americans by Afghanis “inside the wire” to the recent alleged massacre of 16 civilians by a U.S. soldier.
Sorry to have to refresh your recollection of history, General, but these green on blue killings have been going on for a long time before that massacre. But, Allen believes it’s our guys’ fault. They’re just not showing proper respect for Islam. He believes that better vetting of candidates for positions as police officers and soldiers in Afghani service will solve the problem. Hey, General, is anyone asking those candidates if they’ve repudiated the Koran and its mandates to kill infidels – to never befriend them? I didn’t think so. You’ll never be able to trust a Muslim behind the wire, General. That’s a truth you’ve not learned, yet.
There is no way I would ever countenance my son or daughter, or my grandson enlisting in the military service to serve under the likes of this man, John Allen. He and David Petraeus are jihad’s very best friends. And neither of them gives a damn about the lives of their own men, or they wouldn’t put them into these situations where they can be attacked and killed by very men they are supposed to train – inside the wire.
Tell ya what. Allen and Petraeus should both be Court Martialed and sent to Ft. Leavenworth prison for a very long time for criminal dereliction of duty.
The Washington Post article by General John Allen ...We can build a durable peace in Afghanistan follows:
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We can achieve what we set out to do in Afghanistan, defeating al-Qaeda and denying it a haven, but that depends on achieving an Afghanistan that can stand on its own.
I recently attended a celebration here to commemorate Afghanistan’s 93rd year of independence. I was struck by the hope and the strengthening of the Afghans’ national identity and their determination to grip their country’s future. Most Americans do not get to see Afghans’ commitment to their country or the improving security that has emerged from our fight together. But I do. And I am confident that, with the international community’s commitment, we can consolidate our gains and build a durable peace in a part of the world vital to U.S. national security.
This moment in Afghan history has arrived not by accident or luck but in the wake of powerful events: the growing strength and capability of Afghan security forces; the signing of bilateral and multilateral strategic partnerships; and the international community’s pledge of substantial support for the next decade.
These accomplishments have been borne on the backs of remarkable allied and Afghan forces — those serving today and those who have gone before. Their tremendous sacrifices are creating security conditions that, finally, are bringing a real sense of confidence to the Afghan people.
We will not allow our efforts to be derailed by the so-called “green-on-blue” attacks — Afghans shooting coalition troops — that have received so much attention recently. Each instance is a tragedy, and we mourn every loss. I have stood on the ramps of airfields here as we’ve sent home our fallen heroes. I take personally the loss of every member of the International Security Assistance Force. Afghan and international leaders at all levels are devoting unprecedented time and effort to reduce this threat. We have implemented measures to better protect our troops; we have helped build an Afghan force of close to 350,000; and Afghans are leading security operations in three-quarters of the country. This momentum is irreversible.
But the real story here is green andblue. Every day, hundreds of thousands of Afghan soldiers and police across this nation work and fight side by side with coalition troops to defeat our common enemies and protect the civilian population. We interact closely on numerous operations, extending security for the Afghan people.
The focus on “green-on-blue” attacks obscures the callous slaughter of Afghan civilians by insurgents led by Mohammad Omar. He has the blood of innocents on his hands even though he hypocritically tells his subordinates not to attack civilians. Either he is out of touch, or his forces are out of control. Perhaps that should be no surprise. Omar lives in Pakistan, as do many of his “commanders.” From that safe vantage point, they’ve sent hundreds of young, impressionable, largely spiritual and helpless youths to their deaths and detention in Afghanistan. For this, they must forfeit their honor and any claim to Islamic virtue.
And they are losing. “Green” and “blue” have been taking the fight to the red enemy, the Taliban, and the enemy is fighting back from a position of weakness. His forces have largely been ejected from most of the relevant population areas, and from among the most relevant terrain in Afghanistan, the Afghan people. Omar is losing financial support from donors, who are sending their money elsewhere, and from reduced drug profits, thanks to Afghan and coalition efforts to stamp out the poppy harvest. Finally, Afghan security forces are increasing in number and quality every day. The area controlled by allied and Afghan forces reaches into Taliban support zones that had long been inaccessible. With each atrocity, assassination and depredation inflicted on innocent Afghans, the insurgents further distance themselves from the Afghan people and their faith, for there is a distinctive Islamic prohibition against murdering innocent civilians or benefiting from the scourge of drugs and abject criminality.
This is playing out in another important color combination: white on red. The Afghan population is organizing to drive the hated Taliban from their villages. This movement is emerging in areas where the heavy hand of the Taliban has created a popular groundswell against the insurgents.
These trends speak well for the future of Afghanistan, but the international community should know these gains are fragile, and reversible, if we lose our will to succeed.
U.S., allied and Afghan security forces will continue to deal with “green-on-blue” attacks. We will mourn our precious dead, but we will not permit this threat to derail the progress being made by coalition and Afghan forces. We also resolve to protect the civilian population, the “white,” from the scourge of the Taliban, the “red.”
This struggle is far from over, but the solution will be found in our growing strength and will not be defined by incidents of “green-on-blue” violence. Our cause is right, our determination is clear and our sacrifices have not been in vain. We are, in fact, prevailing.
