Army Major Jeremy Hall pulled two tours as an Army engineer north of Baghdad – first in 2007 and 2008, and then again in 2010 and 2011. He faced challenges during his initial deployment, but was glad he went back for a second …
Nation-Building
The Securitization of Instability
Having escaped Iraq after eight years, now mired in the nation’s 12th year in Afghanistan, Americans are probably ready for a book looking at the kind of missions the U.S. military has taken on post-9/11. They’re not pure …
“Green on Blue” Attacks Trigger Changes on the Ground
COMBAT OUTPOST GARDA, WARDAK PROVINCE — The jumble of Afghan soldiers stood in the shade of a wall, waiting for orders to prepare for drills from their American trainers. Suddenly the thump of an explosion sent them scattering. …
Forget `Trust, But Verify.’ Make It `Don’t Trust, And Verify.’
Weaning Kabul Off the U.S. War Machine
So there’s Mohammed Nabi in Kabul complaining about the half-finished buildings and empty scaffolding near his floor-tile shop. “We now realize that most of our business was dependent on foreigners,” he says about the shop he …
Buying Peace
Winning a war can be tricky business, especially if you’re a U.S. soldier outfitted with the U.S. military’s formal guide for reintegrating the Taliban into a peaceful Afghan society. This is is different from the money the …
Capital Flight
Seeds of Peace
Army Colonel Brian Copes and the Indiana Army National Guard headed off to war with a pitchfork, not a rifle. As commander of the 1-19th Agribusiness Development Team in Afghanistan in 2009, Copes’ team deployed to Khost …
“Green-on-Blue” Attacks, From the “Green” Side…
There’s been a flurry of stories, largely out of Washington, about what the Pentagon is doing to try to cut down on the rash of insider attacks in Afghanistan. Here’s Time’s John Wendle reporting on them from Kabul, where …
Tunnel Vision
The U.S. is eager to rebuild the Salang Pass tunnel in Afghanistan. It’s a vital conduit linking Kabul to everything north of the capital. Just how important is it?
The site is located at high altitude and is a critical part of the infrastructure of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA); and as such shall
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Training the Afghan Military
Army Major Christopher Miller was in Afghanistan in 2006-2007 helping to train up its security forces. An infantryman, he was there as part of a four-man embedded tactical trainer – ETT – with the 41st Brigade Combat Team, …
Goldilocking the “Insider Threat”
Make no mistake about it: when Afghan “insiders” turn their weapons on their U.S. and coalition allies and kill them, most either escape or are killed in the act. So gleaning intelligence about motivation can be tough. Forty …
Semper Infidelis
Of all the horrible “green on blue” killings that have happened recently in Afghanistan, perhaps the most horrific took place in Helmand province on Aug. 10. That’s when Aynoddin, who like many in that country goes by a single …