| Mr. Bostom responds to General Allen in high indignation supported by hard data generated by the Army itself. |
| An oldie but goody... |
Although the report is dominated by apologetic, cultural relativist drivel which attempts, in vain, to explain away these acts of murder committed against the US and NATO troops by their by ANA "allies," it also includes a crudely buried, sub rosa truthful narrative.
This latter discussion is all that matters, and bears full, clear exposure -- particularly in light of the morally dubious excuse for the most recent spate of such killings of US troops. Specifically, General Allen in a pronouncement for which he should be forced to resign, maintained that Ramadan fasting, combined with operational tempo during the summer heat, were the drivers of these most recent killings of his own troops by Muslim ANA soldiers.
[p. 3] U.S. Soldiers' views of ANSF [Afghan National Security Forces], particularly of the ANA, were...extremely negative. They reported pervasive illicit drug use, massive thievery, personal instability, dishonesty, no integrity, incompetence, unsafe weapons handling, corrupt officers, no real NCO [non-commissioned officer] corps, covert alliances/informal treaties with insurgents, high AWOL rates, bad morale, laziness, repulsive hygiene, and the torture of dogs. Perceptions of civilians were also negative stemming from their insurgent sympathies and cruelty towards women and children.
[Specific elaborations on Afghan Muslim treatment of dogs, women, and children; pp. 44-45] Many US soldiers were appalled by the rampant torture of dogs and puppies they witnessed while being based with ANSF units. Many ANSF members are prone to inflicting abuse onto stray dogs they bring to the base for "entertainment" purposes. Other ANSF members, while not condoning the torture, fail to see any importance in such behaviors given the standing of dogs in Islam. Dogs are seen as vermin and many ANSF members find it inexplicable that anyone could be concerned about such "trivial matters," and deeply resent any interference...This animal abuse is a substantial psychological stressor for many US soldiers and has been the cause of many serious social altercations with ANSF members...US soldiers reported that they had observed many cases of child abuse and neglect that infuriated them and alienated them from the civilian populace. They made it very clear that they wanted nothing to do with people who treat children so cruelly. Although not reported by the US soldiers who participated in this study. There have been numerous accounts of Canadian troops in Kandahar complaining about the rampant sexual abuse of children they have witnessed ANSF personnel commit, including the cultural practice of bacha bazi [link - ed], as well as the raping and sodomizing of little boys...Similarly, US soldiers...mentioned the poor treatment and virtual slavery of Women in Afghan society, and how they found such practices repugnant. They found it unpalatable to befriend other men who had such primitive beliefs; the cultural gulf was too wide. They were repulsed by the abuse and neglect they observed in how children are treated in Afghan society. US soldiers largely reported that they did not care for Afghan civilians due to these factors as well as their suspected sympathies for the insurgents.
But the most salient point -- blatantly ignored throughout the feckless conduct of our mission in Afghanistan, till now, and exemplified, glaringly, by General Allen's remarks -- was inserted (as item 40), non-sequitur, amongst 58 other comparatively trivial recommendations.
[p. 50] Better educate US soldiers in the central tenets of Islam as interpreted and practiced in Afghanistan. Ensure that this instruction is not a sanitized, politically correct training package, but rather includes an objective and comprehensive assessment of the totalitarian nature of the extreme theology practiced among Afghans.