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US halts training of new Afghan recruits
The US military has suspended training for all new Afghan recruits in the wake of the mounting attacks in which American and NATO troops have been killed this year either by Afghan soldiers or by insurgents disguised as Afghan security.
The suspension, first reported by The Washington Post, will continue until more than 27,000 new Afghan recruits are screened afresh to determine if some of them have ties to insurgency.
Attacks by men in Afghan uniform have killed 45 international troops in the war-torn country. There have been 34 deaths in insider attacks this year, with 12 of them in August alone.
The American forces have been busy training the locals to pave the way for a complete Afghan takeover of security as the US-led coalition plans to complete withdrawal of their combat troops by the end of 2014.
Citing NATO officials, the Post reported from Kabul that "numerous military guidelines were not followed by Afghans or Americans because of concerns that they might slow the growth of the Afghan army and police".
A senior US Special Operations official, however, has been quoted as saying that while the vetting process is effective, a lack of follow-up has allowed some Afghan troops coming under the sway of insurgency or disillusioned with the Afghan government to remain in the force.
"We have a very good vetting process. What we learned is that you just can’t take it for granted. We probably should have had a mechanism to follow up with recruits from the beginning," the official told the paper.
The Special Operations expects the renewed screening process will take about two months to complete, with the training of new recruits stalling for a month.
Following the step-up in the insider attacks, NATO has issued a directive, asking its troops to stay away from Afghan soldiers and police officers during vulnerable moments, such as when they are sleeping, bathing or exercising. "We need to reduce risks by reducing certain interactions with the Afghans. We don’t need to sleep or shower next to them, because that’s when we’re most vulnerable. It’s about force protection without endangering the relationship," a NATO official has been quoted as saying.
The US military has suspended training for all new Afghan recruits in the wake of the mounting attacks in which American and NATO troops have been killed this year either by Afghan soldiers or by insurgents disguised as Afghan security.
The suspension, first reported by The Washington Post, will continue until more than 27,000 new Afghan recruits are screened afresh to determine if some of them have ties to insurgency.
Attacks by men in Afghan uniform have killed 45 international troops in the war-torn country. There have been 34 deaths in insider attacks this year, with 12 of them in August alone.
The American forces have been busy training the locals to pave the way for a complete Afghan takeover of security as the US-led coalition plans to complete withdrawal of their combat troops by the end of 2014.
Citing NATO officials, the Post reported from Kabul that "numerous military guidelines were not followed by Afghans or Americans because of concerns that they might slow the growth of the Afghan army and police".
A senior US Special Operations official, however, has been quoted as saying that while the vetting process is effective, a lack of follow-up has allowed some Afghan troops coming under the sway of insurgency or disillusioned with the Afghan government to remain in the force.
"We have a very good vetting process. What we learned is that you just can’t take it for granted. We probably should have had a mechanism to follow up with recruits from the beginning," the official told the paper.
The Special Operations expects the renewed screening process will take about two months to complete, with the training of new recruits stalling for a month.
Following the step-up in the insider attacks, NATO has issued a directive, asking its troops to stay away from Afghan soldiers and police officers during vulnerable moments, such as when they are sleeping, bathing or exercising. "We need to reduce risks by reducing certain interactions with the Afghans. We don’t need to sleep or shower next to them, because that’s when we’re most vulnerable. It’s about force protection without endangering the relationship," a NATO official has been quoted as saying.
