In two separate incidents on Monday, three NATO troops were killed by Afghan security forces, which is the latest in the rising number of attacks in which Afghan forces have turned their lethal weapons on their foreign partners. The deaths mirror a height in tension between international forces and Afghans, following the massacre of Afghan civilians by an American soldier, the burning of the Quran and other Islamic materials at a U.S. base, and the uncertainty of Afghanistan’s fate as foreign troops prepare for dismissal. The killings also come at a time when international troops have upgraded training and mentoring for Afghan government workers, police force, and soldiers so that Afghans can take the lead and foreign troops can go home. The success of the partnership is essential to the U.S.-led coalition’s mission to withdraw most foreign combat forces by the end of 2014.
“We experienced these in Iraq. We experienced them in Vietnam. On any occasion where you’re dealing with an insurgency and where you’re also growing an indigenous force … the enemy’s going to do all that they can to disrupt both the counterinsurgency operations,” said U.S. Marine General John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Allen told reporters at the Pentagon that these types of attacks are characteristic of any warfare involving insurgents.
