rssNot Really a Press Release You Ever Want to Read
Monday, June 29, 2009 at 12:44 pm
- 2 Comments
This one came to me earlier today from USFOR-A, the U.S. military command in Afghanistan:
There was no involvement of coalition or ISAF [International Security Assistance Forces] forces in the attack at a Kandahar police station today.
The incident was an Afghan-on-Afghan incident, and did not involve U.S. or international personnel or equipment.
And that was it for substance. What’s going on in Kandahar? Josh Foust points to Christian from Ghosts of Alexander who says that the police chief in Kandahar was killed. Reuters reports that the “Afghan-on-Afghan” reference in the press release is a reference to “U.S.-trained Afghan security guards” and not insurgents who shot the Kandahar police chief. No clear motive right now, judging from the reporting so far. The guards are in custody — I guess U.S. custody, since Reuters reports that President Hamid Karzai called on the U.S. to turn them over to the national government for trial.
Josh tries to piece together the context. I certainly can’t add anymore, so I suggest reading his stuff, but the evidence he collects, particularly from a friend on the ground in Kandahar, is that “there is a feeling of ‘the final straw’ in people’s reactions to the news.” I don’t really know what that cashes out to mean, but it’s ominous.
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2 Comments
Comment posted June 29, 2009 @ 5:56 pm
I agree it's ominous – for Afghanistan. We in Afghanistan are also wondering what's going on. Sometimes there are tribal or other tribal dynamics we simply aren't privy to – who knows. But I wouldn't criticize (not that you are) US Forces Afghanistan for not providing additional substance. I think they flat out don't know, and after President Karzai lashed out without knowing the facts, it would have been simply adding fuel to the fire to lash back – or to comment without knowing the facts. I think it's best left for the Afghan government to fill in the details.
Comment posted June 30, 2009 @ 11:44 am
So it's come out that the commander of the “security guards” had a family member cooling his heels in the jailhouse, so he gathered some men and tried to break him out. The police chief arrived on scene, and a gunfight ensued.
Sounds like (the real version, that is, at least as best we can tell) it was competing corruption by men with guns that ended badly. I guarantee you we'll see Karzai spinning this for his campaign since the 41 men they arrested were found on KAF, and that there was a bribe element involved in why the prisoner was not released peacefully.
But more worrying is that the Karzais' quick run to the media have managed to cement in a lot of Afghan's minds the impression that this was yet another SOF raid gone wrong. Which is pretty much the most damaging thing they could have possible said.
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