Beverly Perlson
Rather than deal with the underlying problem of Afghan National Security Force members not being properly vetted, senior Pentagon officials appear content to engage in semantics instead of taking steps to prevent the “green-on-blue” attacks killing more and more Americans in Afghanistan.
Gen. Martin Dempsey
One of those officials, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Martin Dempsey, said the name “green-on-blue” is a misnomer, according to a CNN report yesterday:
“I think you’ll hear us start talking about these incidents more as ‘insider attack,’ rather than green-on-blue, because what that does is it understates the effect that this is having on the ANSF itself,” he said. “You know, they’re suffering from the same … trend that we’re suffering from.”
Currently, the ANSF’s vetting process, according to a NATO Media Backgrounder dated March 2011, consists of the eight steps described below:
Recruitment is now following an 8-step vetting process. Upon signing the enlistment contract agreement, the recruit must get two individuals (village elder, Mullah, or other local government representative) to sign and vouch for the recruit. These individuals are held responsible if any discrepancy in the contract is found. The recruit’s paperwork and government ID is reviewed and basic biometric information (retinal scan, fingerprints, height, age, and weight) is collected, added to the recruit’s personnel file and accompanies the recruit to training. The biometric data is then checked to see if the individual has any known criminal or insurgent links. Approximately 6% of applicants are screened out for either drug use or medical conditions.
According to Defense Department and International Security and Assistance Force statistics cited in a recent news report, at least 107 U.S. and NATO troops have been killed in attacks by so-called “allies” since 2007.
Unfortunately, people who are willing to blow themselves up to kill Americans and others who assist them are also willing to provide biometric data prior to waging attacks. Clearly, the vetting process must involve something more.
Beyond obtaining approvals from elders and collecting fingerprints, ISAF needs to take advantage of vetting technology that’s affordable enough to make possible the vetting of all ANSF members who work alongside American troops and bring an end to end the “green-on-blue” “insider attacks.”
Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If we leave the vetting up to the ANSF and their 8-step vetting process, findings like the ones reported by behavioral scientist Jeffrey Bordin, Ph.D., in his unclassified May 12, 2011, report, “A CRISIS OF TRUST AND CULTURAL INCOMPATIBILITY,” will only grow worse over time.
On page 5 of his report, more details of which I shared in a piece Tuesday, Bordin offered this stunning tidbit:
Of note, during the last six month period (November, 2010 through April, 2011) Westerners stationed within Afghanistan’s N2KL region (Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar and Laghman provinces) who regularly interact and/or train with ANSF’s have been over 150 times more likely to be murdered by an ANSF member than a U.S. police officer is to be murdered in the line of duty by any perpetrator (see Appendix B, pg. 59 for calculation); this excludes the additional risks associated with regular combat for these coalition personnel.
Clearly unacceptable!
Read the rest here.
Replies
Well, let me tell you what General. Get our troops out of the shit hole. Nobody, or anything, at anytime, will ever unit that country. It is being led by tribesmen leaders and they in no way will give up their power, for America or nobody. Get it bird brain. Those tent dwellers will not surrender their power.
Dempsey is a disgrace to the uniform he wears. He's just another bozo political hack. If he were not he wouldn't have the job he has. The sad part is that he and his ilk will never be held accountable for the lives they have sacrificed on their altar of political correctness. He threw every retired military member under the bus some time ago when he stated that he and his staff would be only to glad to pay higher co-pays for their Tricare healthcare coverage. And, of course he saw to it that the SMJ of the Army said the same thing. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the $200,000+ a year retirement that he's going to get. The fact that he and scum like Panetta, McNamara, and others are never held accountable is a sad commentary on the integrity of this nation. After posting this I decided to edit my post and add the following: Since I have my own rifle range I think I'm going to print out his picture and use it for target practice.
It is time to bring the troops home. We havn't learned anything threw history!!
Note that we hear virtually nothing about the deaths occurring over in that hell hole of a country. These people are hopeless simply based on the fact of how they live. It's like living in the dark ages. Get our men and women home now! Is this being done on purpose?!!! We all know that obummer hates the military and is trying to shrink it, but would he go to this extreme on purpose? We need to get rid of this pathetic, embarrassing excuse for a president. Go Romney Ryan!
Pat,
I served for over 23 years. I am a Vietnam Combat Ranger Veteran. After Vietnam I volunteered for recruiting duty. Never once did I lie to a potential recruit. I even turned some away because I did not think they were fit for the US Army. The only advantage I had was that a war was going on so I did not have to inform my clients that they might go to war and they might die. That was a given. What I find interesting as I look back at my days as a recruiter is that most of my enlistees had a written contract for some school. Only a few that I can recall wanted to enlist infantry. I was a recruiter for only 2 years and then I got my butt out of there and went to Counterintelligence. Anyway, we need to get out of the middle east quickly and do not enter there again unless someone attacks Israel.
To our Generals, what part of Insanity do you not understand???,The ANSF could very well be that un-forseen death trap that continues to plague our spiritual brothers in combat,in a country that obama is quietly and secretly using to weaken our forces.If you think this is to far fetched then i have to question how you earned the right to lead.
In simplest of terms ovomit the communist against the USA leaks information to the brotherhood ( his) and the ANSF sets the stage for the slaughter of more skilled and trained Americans,so when the time comes these defenders of the constitution and America will have perished,or become incapable to defend.
What will it take to open the eye,s of the blind.......Joe
We have got to pull our troops out of there,part of Barry Sotoros plan is to have as many of our troops killed so the socialist agenda can be implemented in the USA. I am a veteran and we were in a war sanctioned by congress,though known to be an illegal war many lives were lost,however we have a fraud usurper in the White House,this should be the war we need to be fighting,to get the imposter out.He (ovomit) was not born in Hawaii and the forged document is just that a phony that experts have tried with out success to present to the powers that be but like the Ltc. Larkin who spent 5 months in jail for asking Barry where he was born we get resistance from the usurpers administration.We have to win the war in our country first before we can do the right thing and bring our troops home.As long as people believe the lie that obuma is American the stronger our fight. Enough is Enough!!!!