Second Lt. Andrew McCarthy, center, instructs a team of Afghan National Police officers during their first training session in Chahar Darreh, near Kunduz, Afghanistan, May 2, 2010. According to American and Afghan officers and a classified coalition report obtained by The New York Times, American and other coalition forces in Afghanistan are being killed in increasing numbers by the very Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train. DAMON WINTER/NYT
Men In Battle: When A Brotherly Bond Turns Deadly -- Graeme Smith, Globe And Mail
The relationship between men who go into battle together can be intense, a brotherly love as strong as any romantic bond. But when such relationships break down the results can be deadly.
France lost four troops on Friday in what appears to be a fratricidal shooting by an Afghan soldier. During the Vietnam war, enlisted men threw fragmentation grenades at their superiors so frequently that killing within the ranks became known as “fragging.” In the Afghan war, the catchphrase is “green on blue,” attacks in which Afghan forces (green) kill or injure their supposed NATO allies (blue).
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My Comment: Culture dictates much of our behavior, and when two very different cultures collide .... especially in a war zone like Afghanistan .... conflict and animosity is usually the result. The Soviet Union learned about this when they fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s .... we are learning about it now.