Pacific Views

Marines Kicked Out Of Afghanistan

I blogged about this briefly the other day when I saw an article in the Army Times, but another twist has come to my attention in the story of the kicked out Marine unit:

In an unusual move, the commander of U.S. special operations troops in the region, ordered a unit of 120 U.S. Marines out of Afghanistan on March 23rd. This was because of the way the marines handled a March 4th incident where they were ambushed by a suicide car bomber and gunfire.

The marines were removed because their reaction to the ambush used "Iraq Rules", and not the less violent procedures employed in Afghanistan. ...

The, um, Iraq rules? You mean, this is how they've been doing it in Iraq?

... The March 4 incident was first reported by The Associated Press, which quoted several Afghan witnesses and wounded civilians who said U.S. forces fired on civilians in cars and on foot after a suicide bomber in a minivan struck a vehicle in a Marine convoy, injuring one.

The Marines responded with gunfire, shooting as they continued to drive along a six-mile stretch of highway, according to the AP. Initial statements by the military stated that the Marines reported they came under fire from insurgents, and some civilians may have been struck down by enemy fire, although that remains part of the investigation.

“I saw them turning and firing from this direction, then turning and firing in that direction,” Ahmed Najab, 23, who was shot in the shoulder, told AP. “I even saw a farmer shot by the Americans.”

“They were firing everywhere,” another Afghan, Tur Gul, 38, who was shot in his right hand, told AP. “They opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot.” ...

Well, no wonder the Surge is working. I'm sure all the towns I've ever lived in would be totally pacified after four years of having touchy foreigners who didn't speak the language randomly firing at civilians every time they were attacked. Yep, that would work like a charm.

Sarcasm aside, that last article mentioned that there was some debate in military circles about whether or not the unit had been fully trained before deployment. I'm not sure if it would be worse that this happened because they were sent there unprepared or if it happened because this is how they've been preparing them. Either way is its own, special hell.

Posted by natasha at March 31, 2007 07:32 PM | War on Terrorism | Technorati links |