Hoping for a stable Afghanistan!

“The relationship [with Afghan army units] is definitely strained at this point,” said the American official familiar with the investigation. “U.S. soldiers have to be much more on guard if they are asked to work with them and have to thoroughly assess risk if we are to continue to do operations with them.”

After a decade of "fighting" with them - or for them - or beside them - "insider" attacks not from the Taliban against American troops have become more pervasive, says this report.

Insider attacks have become the leading threat to the U.S. military’s effort to wind down the war by the end of 2014, leaving behind a local force capable of protecting the fragile Afghan state. Before Saturday’s incident, Afghan security forces had killed at least 51 NATO troops this year in 37 attacks, up from last year’s 37 deaths in 21 attacks.

Of course, as far removed as we are - it is impossible to know the details of the "why" of attacks like this!  And yet, I have to wonder if more non-military options in the past - for greater aid and benevolence toward local populations of indigenous persons, might have given birth to an entirely different Afghanistan today.

Toward eupan ~

~ marty alan michelson, ph.d.