Afghanistan’s Soldiers Step Up Killings of Allied Forces

[DeathToTheOil]

KABUL, Afghanistan — American and other coalition forces here are being killed in increasing numbers by the very Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train, in attacks motivated by deep-seated animosity between the supposedly allied forces, according to American and Afghan officers and a classified coalition report obtained by The New York Times.

A decade into the war in Afghanistan, the report makes clear that these killings have become the most visible symptom of a far deeper ailment plaguing the war effort: the contempt each side holds for the other, never mind the Taliban. The ill will and mistrust run deep among civilians and militaries on both sides, raising questions about what future role the United States and its allies can expect to play in Afghanistan.

Underscoring the danger, four French service members were killed and a number were wounded on Friday when a gunman wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon on them, according to an Afghan police official in Kapisa Province in eastern Afghanistan where the incident occurred and a Western official in Kabul, who sopke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The Afghan police official, Asdullah Hamidi, said the shooting happened in Tagab District, an area that is viewed as dangerous and dominated by insurgent forces.

The gunman is in custody, a NATO official said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/world/asia/afghan-soldiers-step-up-killings-of-allied-forces.html?_r=1&hp

[dipsydoodle]

1. 10 NATO troops killed in Afghanistan in 24 hours

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- An Afghan soldier shot and killed four French troops Friday in eastern Afghanistan and a helicopter crash killed six more NATO service members in the south, officials said, marking a particularly deadly 24 hours for coalition forces.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday that France is suspending its training programs for Afghan troops after the killings, which he announced in a speech after the U.S.-led coalition said an Afghan soldier shot and killed four NATO troops.

Sarkozy said it was "unacceptable" that Afghan troops would attack French soldiers. He said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe is heading to Afghanistan after the attack, which is among the most deadly for French forces in the 10 years they have been serving in the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan.

NATO said in statements that the Afghan shooter had been apprehended, but it disclosed no other details about the incident.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=PAYOK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[newfie11]

2. HELLO! Maybe its time to stop occupying their country n/t

[DeathToTheOil]

5. Bring 'em home NOW!

(Including the 920 Canadian troops still in country.)

[dipsydoodle]

3. France suspends all Afghanistan training operations over troop killings

France is suspending military training operations in Afghanistan and considering whether to withdraw its entire force early after four French soldiers were killed by an Afghan soldier in the Taghab valley of eastern Kapisa province.

The shootings on Friday were the latest of several in which western soldiers have been killed by members of the Afghan security forces, undermining trust in the runup to the withdrawal of foreign combat troops in 2014.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, announced that France would temporarily stop all its training operations and co-operation with Afghan troops. He immediately dispatched the French defence minister, Gerard Longuet, to Afghanistan to establish whether "conditions were safe" for French soldiers. He said if safe conditions were not clearly established France would consider an early withdrawal of all its troops from Afghanistan.

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"The French army is in Afghanistan at the service of the Afghans against terrorism and against the Taliban. The French army is not in Afghanistan so that Afghan soldiers can shoot at them," he added.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/20/france-suspends-afghanistan-training-operations

[lunatica]

4. They don't like being occupied. Yah! Big surprise!