Afghan Police Officer Kills Five British Soldiers

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — The British Defense Ministry said Wednesday that five soldiers died Tuesday in Helmand province, apparently in an attack by what a British officer called a “rogue” Afghan policeman.

The death toll represented one of the highest British fatalities in a single attack since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and brought the number of British soldiers to have died in the conflict to 229.

Just one month after an Afghan policeman opened fire on American soldiers during a joint patrol, killing two of them, the incident provoked new concerns about indiscipline and infiltration within the Afghan security forces, which are supposed to be preparing to take a broader role in combating the Taliban insurgency.

Lt. Col. David Wakefield, a British spokesman in Helmand, said an “individual rogue” Afghan policeman opened fire on British during in the southern province on Tuesday. It was not clear whether the police officer had links to the Taliban insurgents who have been fighting an increasingly bold campaign against Afghan and NATO forces.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/world/asia/05afghan.html

[Why Syzygy]

1. Very sad.

I suspect ALL of them are 'rouge' by our definition. They don't want us there.

[Turborama]

2. Taliban infiltrating the police isn't surprising according to Peter Galbraith in Guardain article

=snip=

"It is a terrible tragedy … but it is, I won't quite say inevitable, but it is not surprising," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He said police usually received an eight-week training course, but it had been shortened to five weeks in order to have more police available for the elections, particularly in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, he added.

"The process of police training and recruiting has been very rushed," he added. "There isn't a lot of vetting of police before they are hired.

"It is not totally surprising that people were recruited who may have had Taliban sympathies or were infiltrated into the police by the Taliban, although I don't know yet whether, in this particular episode, that is exactly what happened."

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/04/afghanistan-soldiers-killed-helmand


After the election fiasco and now this, it's getting clearer how badly the mission in Afghanistan is FUBAR.

[countmyvote4real]

3. Long past time to leave this occupation n/t

[MetaTrope]

4. Apparently he ran out of candy and flowers to throw at them

[Turborama]

5. Whatever your stance in the war is, joking about soldiers getting shot is sick. n/t

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Turborama]

7. I don't need a lesson in irony and sarcasm

It was an inappropriate 'joke', not matter what flavor you want to add to it.


A joke is a short story or ironic depiction of a situation communicated with the intent of being humorous. These jokes will normally have a punchline that will end the sentence to make it humorous. A joke can also be a single phrase or statement that employs sarcasm. The word joke can also be used as a slang term for a person or thing which is not taken seriously by others in general. A practical joke or prank differs from a spoken one in that the major component of the humour is physical rather than verbal (for example placing salt in the sugar bowl).

Jokes are typically for the entertainment of friends and onlookers. The desired response is generally laughter; when this does not happen the joke is said to have "fallen flat".

As far as your picture is concerned, posting it is meant to prove what? The OP is about soldiers getting shot in Afghanistan.

[Captain Hilts]

11. Yes, it is. nt

[joeycola]

8. U.K.: 5 British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Source: washington post

U.K.: 5 British soldiers killed in Afghanistan


By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, November 4, 2009; 6:31 AM

KABUL--Five British soldiers were shot and killed in southern Afghanistan Tuesday afternoon in an attack apparently carried out by an Afghan police officer, British officials said. ...............

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/04/AR2009110400208.html?hpid=moreheadlines

---

RIP brave soldiers and peace to the families.

[Soylent Brice]

9. K&R

[Captain Hilts]

10. This is terrible. Many thanks to the Tommies who serve with us there. RIP, gentlemen. nt

[FarCenter]

12. If the Afghan had a relative killed by the British, he was honor-bound to exact revenge for it

It has nothing to do with terrorism, religion or politics.

The Pashtun code of honor requires vendetta.

[Turborama]

13. Speculation

How do you know this was an act of revenge?

[Prometheus Bound]

14. The poster used the conditional 'if'.

[Turborama]

15. Yes, and that's why I called it speculation. They then posted a new sentence in the body of the post

"It has nothing to do with terrorism, religion or politics."

That sounded like a definitive statement, unless it was meant to mean something else and grammatical errors led to it being misinterpreted. I'm sure they'll be able to clarify it themselves when they get the chance.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. The Taliban have claimed responsibility

Former foreign office minister Kim Howells said the attack had struck a blow at the heart of the strategy of building up the Afghan army and police so they could take over responsibility for security from the international forces.

And a spokesman for the Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said: “We want to sow mistrust between the Afghan National Police and foreign forces.”

The five servicemen died when the Afghan officer turned his gun on them at a checkpoint in Nad-e-Ali in Helmand province on Tuesday.

Another six British soldiers and two Afghan policemen were wounded in the shooting, which sent shockwaves through the coalition mission in Afghanistan.

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1469739?UserKey=

[fedsron2us]

17. Sadly all utterly predictable

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=191x17288
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2538510

While the politicians lied the soldiers died.

If you listen you can here the distant strains of Were Here Because Were Here

http://hubpages.com/hub/Were-Here-Because-Were-Here

The faces change but the song remains the same.