The brief was about what he talked with Karzai about the day before his plane got shot up. Some green-on-blue after-action reports. Other assorted questions.
That green on blue violence is really frustrating. It makes me lose hope about much of the euro-mid east relations. Can you give any information that would encourage a positive attitude?
It's definitely an issue (especially for someone like me who's about to spend a whole lot of quality time in Afghan villages) but in the vast majority of cases it's not insidious. While Haqqani/Mullah Omar claim responsibility for every one, there's an awful lot of undisclosed/untreated PTSD in the ANSF and there's a lot of misconception about Pashtunwali (the Pashtun code of honor). For instance, if I was to say to a man that his wife was hot, according to his code my life is forfeit without an immediate apology and he'd be a coward in front of his coworkers not to take it. That's not something the everyday 19 y/o GI is trained on, and as there's more trust put into the ANSF (and closer coordination with them) there are more opportunities for green-on-blue to manifest themselves. However, as we're drawing down shooters the Joint Chiefs are sending more people like me (a bit more senior, with language and culture skills and the mindset to help the Afghans) to make transition easier and (hopefully) more enduring.
