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(Image source: The New York Times)
BY STEVEN SPARKMAN
ANCHOR LAUREN GORES
NATO has announced a shift in its Afghan strategy that has analysts
confused about the future of the mission and the planned 2014 troop withdrawal.
The
big change: NATO troops will spend much less time working side-by-side with Afghan forces.
HLN reports this is largely due to “green on blue” or “insider” attacks. (Video
via CNN)
“So far this year more than 50 coalition troops were killed by uniformed
Afghans. The secretary of defense says the Taliban are behind some of those deaths and
that the attacks are the group’s ‘last gasp effort.’”
The new orders say
all joint operations with Afghan troops have to be approved by a regional commander.
NATO
Secretary General Anders Rasmussen says the orders are “temporary and prudent.” But
a BBC reporter says they’re also proving to be a headache.
“The shift in Nato's
operational procedures has not been well explained. Considerable confusion remains as to what
exactly will or will not change on the ground.”
Defense analysts say the “green on blue” attacks
have undermined the trust required to carry out training. The Washington Post reports
in some areas the new orders are raising tensions even higher.
“Some U.S. troops in the
field complained over the weekend when the original guidance trickled down and some joint
operations were abruptly halted. … ‘We look really bad to the Afghans right now,’
said one platoon sergeant … ‘We are supposed to be supporting them, and we left them. This
was a step backwards.’”
The new orders also caused an uproar in the British parliament,
where lawmakers have long tried to draw down the country’s troop involvement. Fox News
reports...
“Lawmakers in the United Kingdom, which is also a member of NATO, obviously,
say the move could seriously undermine our strategy of transitioning control to the Afghans
ahead of the planned withdrawal.”
Britain’s defense minister said Tuesday the order would
have a minimal impact on British troops. But a writer for the Guardian says that’s hard
to believe.
“That claim sits rather awkwardly with repeated emphasis on the importance
of the Afghan training programme, the very raison d'etre, according to the British government,
of the continuing presence of British troops in the country.”
NATO officials say
the new order won’t affect plans to withdraw from the country in 2014.