My Bad

Communication leads to community, that is,
to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing
--Rollo May

Lying is done with words
and also with silence
--Adrienne Rich

It's the same old song
but with a different meaning
since you've been gone
--It's the Same Old Song, Four Tops

_____________

Ranger Question of the Day:
Why weren't these Afghan police
flying their flag outside of their HQ?
_______________

These are not good times to wear the Blue Uniform in Afghanistan.

"U.S. Special Forces (SF) killed six Afghan police and one civilian, and wounded 13 12/10 in a case of mistaken identity by both sides after the police fired on the Americans during an operation against an insurgent commander" (U.S. Forces Kill Six Afghan Police in Error.) In error. . .as opposed to actually intending to.

"Coalition forces deeply regret the incident of mistaken fire" said Col. Jerry O'Hara, military spokesman. My bad. He did not, however, express regret over the ensuing loss of life, which is a slightly different thing from regretting the skill error.

O'Hara chalked it up to a "tragic case of mistaken identity on both parts." It all comes down to communication, as any relationship counselor will tell you. The SF did not tell the police about the American operation -- in which they "battled and killed an armed militant in the city of Qalat, capital of the southern province of Zabul" -- because U.S. military fears "government officials connected to the Taliban could tip off the militants."

The police at a nearby checkpoint thought it was a Taliban attack and opened fire, said Gulab Shah Alikhail, Zabul's deputy governor. "Then a helicopter fired on the security post and destroyed it, he said."

On any SF Operational Detachment A there should have been a Warrant Officer, an experienced and school-trained Operations and Intelligence (O & I) type, in addition to at least one E7/O & I specialist on the team.

High tech is great, but technology will fail if the S2/3 is not talking to and coordinating with friendly and adjacent units. High tech can not overcome the failure of an O & I type not talking to adjacent friendly units.

Aside from this flubbed operation, Ranger asks: Why is the lauded SF running around the world killing insurgents? Insurgents are not the enemy of the U.S. Are these insurgents actually al-Qaeda? Why are U.S. soldiers playing Serpico against the Afghani PD? At least it's a live fire exercise.

Well, strike off seven less hearts and minds that need winning over to the forces of freedom and equality.

Score for the day: SF 20, Afghans 0.