Afghanistan Soldier Attacks On American, Foreign Troops Underreported

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan is under-reporting the number of times that Afghan soldiers and police open fire on American and other foreign troops.

The coalition routinely reports deliberate attacks in which a coalition soldier is killed by an Afghan in uniform. But it does not report the instances in which an Afghan wounds U.S. or NATO troops or misses his target.

Officials acknowledge the attacks are a worrisome problem for the U.S. and its military partners as they work increasingly closely with Afghan troops in preparation for handing off security responsibility by the end of 2014.

Last week, two U.S. soldiers were wounded when Afghan policemen opened fire on them. The Afghans were quickly killed, and the incident was not reported by the international coalition.

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Police Take Position

Police take their position alongside a giant picture of Afghan national hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, on the roof of police headquarters in Kabul on May 7, 2012. The United States has freed up to 20 detainees from a military prison in Afghanistan over the past two years in an effort to promote reconciliation with insurgent groups, the US embassy said. (BAY ISMOYO/AFP/GettyImages)

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A Mining Future On Hold

@ AbasDaiyar : Dreams Of A Mining Future On Hold In #Afghanistan : NPR http://t.co/uN1C2TP3?

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Checkpoint Lookout

An Afghan youth looks out from an intricately carved truck window at a police checkpoint in Kabul on May 7, 2012. Afghan forces are ready to take responsibility for security in 2013, the defence ministry said on May 7, reacting to a pledge to withdraw French troops early by president-elect Francois Hollande. Hollande made a campaign promise to pull French soldiers out of Afghanistan this year, ending his country's combat role two years earlier than NATO's carefully crafted plan to hand security control to Afghans by 2014. (SHAH MARAI/AFP/GettyImages)

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Government Vows

@ ISAFmedia : AP reports: Afghan Govt forces will thwart any attacks mounted by Taliban. http://t.co/qDEtWRsI #ANSFCanDo

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What French Election Means For Afghanistan

@ headlinenews : Fox: What French presidential vote means for European debt crisis, Afghan war, global diplomacy: French voters c... http://t.co/E6fcgbiH

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Afghanistan At NATO Summit

@ AfghanNews24 : Afghanistan a major focus of NATO summit - Chicago Sun-Times http://t.co/a7lk2KGT

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Inside A Plane

U.S. servicemen inside of a plane before their departure to Afghanistan from the U.S. transit center Manas, 30 km outside the Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, on March 27, 2012. A planned withdrawal of US and coalition forces by the end of 2014 hinges on building up Afghan army and police, but the surge in 'fratricidal' attacks threatens to undermine that strategy, with strained relations between NATO troops and Afghan forces marked by distrust and cultural clashes. (VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP/GettyImages)

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Sunset

An Afghan boy walks with his cow at sunset in Mazar-i Sharif, capital of the Balkh province on April 9, 2012. Agriculture has traditionally driven the Central Asian nation's economy, with wheat and cereal production being mainstays and quality fruits, especially pomegranates, apricots, grapes, melons, and mullberries being exported to many countries. (QAIS USYAN/AFP/GettyImages)

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The Next Decade Of War

@ JoeNBC : Looking Ahead to the Afghan War's Next Decade - Global - The Atlantic Wire: http://t.co/CWSrDjih

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US Soldier Dies Of Rabies From Dog Bite

@ NewYorkPost : US soldier dies of rabies after dog bite in Afghanistan http://t.co/NudcMgyu

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Closed Factory, Lost Dreams

Gazing glumly over millions of dollars worth of machinery which used to churn out thousands of police and army boots each day but now sits wreathed in plastic sheeting, Farhad Saffi fears he is seeing the death of an Afghan dream.

Read the entire story here.

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Hamid Karzai Speaks

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul on May 3, 2012. Karzai hailed a new pact with the United States but warned that tough negotiations on Washington's military presence in his war-torn country after 2014 still lay ahead. (BAY ISMOYO/AFP/GettyImages)

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Gen. John R. Allen Explains The Handover

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of the ISAF forces in Afghanistan, explains to Al Jazeera English why the handover in the turbulent country is "like building an airplane in midflight."

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Honoring Troops Lost In Afghanistan

@ cbrangel : As we begin our withdrawal from Afghanistan, we honor the 1,828 heroic Americans who paid the ultimate sacrifice.http://1.usa.gov/IywJn3

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Agreement Short On Specifics

@ csmonitor : Obama's agreement with Karzai in Afghanistan short on specifics http://t.co/Kb4iI5d1

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Comments

[Backman]

11:06 AM on 05/01/2012

One would be a fool believing Washington would be truthful about how many American troops are kill or hurt in any action in the middle east

[vonwoomer]

09:19 AM on 05/01/2012

The spector of Vietnam...Remove all ground troops..and they'll fall like South Vietnam under the weight of their own corruption and tribalism. Contain their terrorist activities with special ops, drones and air power..

Vietnam Vet, US Air Force Retired Military Officer
432nd Tactical Fighter Wing, Udon Thani...Thai/Loatian Border
F4 Phantom Wing..

[bharrison777]

09:19 AM on 05/01/2012

Liberal media doesn't want Americans to know how poorly Obama had done in handling this war. So they don't give daily body counts on the news every night any more. Wake up America this fool Obama is getting a free ride from the liberal media.

[whitcombc]

11:10 AM on 05/01/2012

The WAR is getting a free ride from the media. I think the label "Liberal" media is foolish - Murdoch, GE, Comcast, etc are NOT liberal groups or corporations. They are way way right of center and the pundits - they DO get direction from above. I worked int eh press and was amazed at how whole themes and stories were filed away on "suggestions" from above.
War is just plain badly reported ever since the adversarial stance of the Press was co-opted by "Embedding" reporters and film crews with soldiers. It is the rare saintly person who can remain objective when an RPG kills a couple of the buddies they were having an MRE with 20 minutes before. We do not have a free press and the press is there to stir up factions which keep ratings up. That is why FOX gets great ratings compared to NBC - FOX is much better at making a non-story into headlines and conflict. NBC struggles to blend the facts with the bias of the bosses in the ivory towers of GE. They can't just report the facts - nobody believes them because there is more propaganda out there than fact. The Last General we had in the White House said we were in for a bad stretch if we didn't shut down the Military - Industrial - Congressional Complex. This is the result of not following his advice.

[Newtons Law]

09:18 AM on 05/01/2012

There is so much more to this conflict that we will never see or hear about. It really makes no difference which party is ruling the roost. The ironic thing is the program will never change and will always remain the same.

[pmvl1225]

09:16 AM on 05/01/2012

Wait a minute. Didn't our government just sign an agreement to keep some forces there and support them until 2024? It was on here last week.

[dbrown6242]

08:56 AM on 05/01/2012

I suggest we engage the Taliban in negotiations to take power in Afghanistan and that we immediately leave. The Taliban was not all bad and did not seem to have been riddled with corruption as is the current regime. AND probably they will stop the growing and exporting of opium/heroin which now flourishes under Karsa and his friends.

[Patrick Fogarty]

08:42 AM on 05/01/2012

Afghanistan is Afghanistan at least as far as this eye can see . The soul of that country is wrapped in suspicion and superstition like a cocoon . The layers of tradition and folklore are the fabric of their protection . We as Westerners , so called , will never know them nor be able to walk as companions on city streets or village pathways . Their hearts , minds and front doors will not be opened to any other than those of their own . Breaking through the code of intolerance will take much time and the patience we lack .

[UseCriticalThinking]

08:37 AM on 05/01/2012

Even this article, which was "hidden" since it wasn't on the main feed, is an example of media bias. As I usually do, I flipped through the main feed articles, backward this time since I didn't want to se Obamas face...and the second article backward was about Obama...read a diff story, so came back tot the main menu and went forward this time...second article about Obama! LOL. Oh yeah, AOL isn't biased at all!

See? They have THIS article, but you only see it if you go to the third page of "Latest Headlines," it isn't on the main feed.

[UseCriticalThinking]

08:21 AM on 05/01/2012

Once Obama became the president, the media stopped giving a body count. Can you say "election year?"

Ever wonder why you don't hear the "fuzzy camera lit" Diane Sawyer give how many US soldiers died today?

Use critical thinking.

[oceanwalker100]

08:55 AM on 05/01/2012

that came from bush the news show the dead coming home bush did not like it he did not want to tell how amy were dead .that is why all wars have mia,s because at time of war people die in numbers.

[airmanconch]

12:05 PM on 05/01/2012

It all Dubya's fault...He has been out of office 3 years....Look in the mirror, that thing above your mouth is your nose!! Surprise, Surprise!

[UH34D]

05:47 AM on 05/01/2012

After Vietnam, I had hoped American politicians had learned their lesson about foreign intervention in unwinnable wars. That the history of folly would be passed to future generations & American lives would not be squandered on absurd visions of military victory utilizing the bankrupt concept of limited warfare. Sadly I was wrong & insanity still rules the day in American politics & at the DOD.

The president should give the order we pack up & leave Afghanistan in 90 to 180 days beginning today. The fate of Afghanistan has already been etched in stone whether we were to leave today or in 2014. The country will devolve into what it has always been & how it has for the most part always existed...into organized chaos & death. There isn't one square inch of Afghanistan worth another American life or the life of any of our Allied troops.

[muzzled]

05:35 AM on 05/01/2012

let's leave Afghanistan and go to Yemen

[JamesScott]

07:14 AM on 05/01/2012

Already there.

[knute9]

04:18 AM on 05/01/2012

Sadly, there are many media outlets that are protecting the enemy.

[Daryl aka SNOOK]

07:03 AM on 05/01/2012

They do that because our government doesnt want us to know know whats really going on.. The media prints what the government tells them they can print. The paid for or owned media has gotten worse under this administration.

[JamesScott]

07:15 AM on 05/01/2012

Which "enemy" -- the Taliban or our own politicians?

[ironchefjay2]

08:06 AM on 05/01/2012

Both

[UseCriticalThinking]

08:24 AM on 05/01/2012

One and the same? Ever notice how easy it is for politicians to order a war they don't have to fight? Long time ago, if a king or ruler declared war, he fought WITH his men. Maybe those who vote for war should also have to fight in it.

[DanUSA1]

03:09 AM on 05/01/2012

I could see how they would not want those incidents reported to the media and just let it known to U.S. and Allied forces.......sometimes media can incidently cause more of the same problem by glamorizing it in the mind of sick psychopaths.
Although its really sad news, evil sees it as points to help start a resurgence sometimes.

[muzzled]

05:32 AM on 05/01/2012

assuming your premise is correct, why report any of it?

[tomofyork2]

01:59 AM on 05/01/2012

All this bogus reporting began with Bushs and Cheney, to continue their lies to Americans and cover-up what they are really up to. For Death Counts from Iraq and Afghanistan - ONLY if you die from wounds in the field are you counted. If you die in transit, in hospital, or anytime after leaving the field you are Not counted. Same bogus cherry-picking goes for Unemployment - the real number is 23% and growing. This is the mess past WH residents inflicted on America.... just like they never budgeted their bogus wars, doubling national debt. Time for them to anwer for their crimes.S\
Search Benjamin Fulford, David Wilcock, Drake interviews - or sites carrying their reports on updates for the upcoming arrests of these criminals.

[muzzled]

05:32 AM on 05/01/2012

look everyone, another socialist playing the antiquated Bush card

[JamesScott]

07:17 AM on 05/01/2012

Another realist. However, underreporting and misinformation didn't originate with Bush and Cheney. Every government has practiced it, throughout the centuries.

[aspman07]

08:09 AM on 05/01/2012

I suppose when Obama loses the election you're going to blame it on the Bush administration.

[jwavitable]

01:35 AM on 05/01/2012

How stupid can these terrorist be. Don't they know that 10 years from now Obama's seal Team 6 will find them and kill them. Why if Obama goes after all of them it will by Seal Army 6.
Ever wonder why Obama is maintaining the Bush timetable to leave Afghanistan?
It is because he loves being a war president. He love sending drones all over the Middle East to blow stuff and people up. If they don't like it, tough he says. He is increasing the funding for the DoD and we here have crappy healthcare and employment prospects. Go to college, get educated and join the Armed Services is Obama's motto. No good jobs to go to you recent grads so I will keep you busy for another 4 years killing people and invading countries.
The sad thing is most Americans have had enough of these wars but not Obama. He is running for election with continuation of the wars in his platform. Something like George Wallace would say; War now, War tomorrow, War forever.
All these invaded countries are just going to love us. Why maybe Iran will become a territory like Guam.

[wmu7013601]

03:30 AM on 05/01/2012

All this started long before Obama, he is just carrying on the policies left by previous administrations and corporate desires.

[Daryl aka SNOOK]

07:07 AM on 05/01/2012

Thats what he said. He didnt say Obama started it. He said hes continueing it.

[aspman07]

08:13 AM on 05/01/2012

Maybe you need to learn how to read, the poster didn't say Obama started it. Libs have so much blind hate they can't even comprehend simple reading.

[UseCriticalThinking]

08:28 AM on 05/01/2012

Except the media isn't billing him as a war president...he's billed as a "peace" president. Peace, peace...and there is no peace.

Even if the shooting stopped today, there would be no peace. How does one person define peace? The end of violence against your brother?

[jwavitable]

04:07 PM on 05/01/2012

You are exactly correct. Obama's peace prize is being used as a door-stop back at his house in Chicago. He never had any desire for peace, only power.