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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan police suspected of helping kill Aussie Soldier |
| 2007-12-14 |
| * Roadside bomb just 400m from manned police post * Afghan police post has clear view of the ambush site * Area dubbed "IED Alley" by Diggers The roadside bomb that killed Trooper David "Poppy" Pearce was only 400m from an Afghan police post, fuelling suspicion that local security forces were complicit in his death. Trooper Pearce's 2/14 Light Horse Regiment believe Afghan police could be acting in concert with the Taliban guerillas blamed for their comrade's death on October 8. "Sometimes you don't know whether to trust your neighbour," said one Digger who was in the convoy of Australian light armoured vehicles on the day the Brisbane father of two was killed. Within days of the incident, Australian combat engineers uncovered nearby a booby trap even bigger than the improvised explosive device that killed Trooper Pearce. Military sources said after that discovery, Reconstruction Task Force commander David Wainwright demanded an Afghan police vehicle lead a follow-up patrol to ensure the road was safe. When asked about the incident, Lieutenant Colonel Wainwright replied: "Afghan police are part of the solution but they are also the problem." Colonel Wainwright is a popular and respected officer who moved his headquarters staff out of their barracks in the district capital of Tarin Kowt to join the Australian forward elements in the Chora Valley during recent heavy fighting. With almost 1000 troops deployed in southern Oruzgan province, the issue is an extremely delicate one for the Australian Defence Force. For the Australian mission to be successful, engagement with the Afghan community is an essential part of an intensive hearts-and-minds program designed to win over the locals, 20 per cent of whom are estimated to support the Taliban. For the first time, journalists accompanied a two-day combat patrol in the Chora Valley, a recently secured front line in the war against the Taliban. Despite the success of operation Spin Ghar in September to flush the valley clear of Taliban, the area is still regarded as a high security risk, being littered with IEDs. Trooper Pearce's vehicle was part of a convoy of more than 10 returning from operations in the Chora Valley when it detonated the IED. Straddling the crest of a prominent hill surrounded to the south by small orchards and mud-brick farm dwellings, the Afghan police post has clear views of the ambush site, 15km north of Tarin Kowt in an area dubbed by the Diggers as "IED Alley". Australian military sources said the post was manned when the ambush occurred and evidence has been uncovered pointing to Afghan police involvement in the attack. Other senior Australian commanders have raised serious questions about the Afghan police. Last week, Colonel Don Roach, based at the headquarters of the NATO-backed International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Regional Command South, said that the police force had to be built from scratch. "Afghanistan does not have a great policing ethos; an Afghan's loyalty is about family, tribe, community - government comes last. The police is not a respected organisation and has done nothing to help itself in that regard. The police need a big injection of funds and support," he said. Much of the work being undertaken by the RTF involves the building of small fortified bunkers along strategic provincial communication routes to accommodate Afghan police - fortification it is hoped will provide them with confidence to take on a greater security role. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #1 Sounds like its time to send the Afghan police out to clear mines, at the end of a gun barrel. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-12-14 20:48 |