Report: US commanders 'incompetent' over nine soldiers killed in Afghan battle of Wanat
An unpublished report into one of the US Army's darkest days, when nine soldiers were killed by the Taliban at a remote Afghan outpost, has branded their commanders incompetent.
By Leonard Doyle in Washington
Published: 6:55PM BST 25 Jul 2009
The official report into the battle of Wanat, on July 13 last year, describes the bravery of soldiers who kept fighting even after they were hit. One mortally wounded soldier continued to pass ammunition as he lay dying, and his comrades' bravery and professionalism ensured that the outpost was never overrun.
But cocksure officers conducted themselves so poorly before the battle that they angered the local villagers whom they were supposed to win over, the report states.
<snip>
A statement from one machine gunner in the unit summed up the general attitude to locals: "We didn't interact with them...they didn't come near us and we didn't go near them," Another soldier added: "These people, they disgust me...everything about those people up there is disgusting. They're worthless."
<snip>
The report criticised the commanders for their "highly kinetic approach", using the military jargon for aggressive military action. The report found that they shot first and asked questions later, which "inevitably degraded the relationships between the US Army and the population." In addition a US helicopter attack before the battle on some trucks passing through the valley killed doctors and other health care workers, angering villagers.
<more>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/5907830/Report-US-commanders-incompetent-over-nine-soldiers-killed-in-Afghan-battle-of-Wanat.html
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