Panetta prods Karzai on Afghan insider killings

Lance Cpl. Greg Buckley Jr.'s father Greg, foreground and mother Marina are escorted from St. Agnes Cathedral after his funeral Mass, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012 in Rockville Center, N.Y.. Buckley Jr. was barely 21 years old when he was killed in an attack by a policeman in Afghanistan. / AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

(AP) WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday to discuss the rising number of "insider" attacks in which Afghan security forces have turned their guns on American and other coalition troops.

Spokesman George Little said Panetta encouraged Karzai to work with U.S. commanders to ensure more rigorous vetting of Afghan recruits. Little said Panetta and Karzai agreed that American and Afghan officials need to work together to address a problem that has intensified in recent days.

In the latest incident, an Afghan police officer on Friday shot to death two U.S. servicemen during a training exercise in the western province of Farah.

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Little said Panetta advised more effective counterintelligence measures to identify potential attackers from inside the ranks of Afghan security forces, as well as "even more rigorous vetting of Afghan recruits, and stepped up engagement with village elders, who often play a key role by vouching for Afghan security personnel."

The phone call was a sign of growing concern in Washington about the insider threat, particularly because American and allied troops are now working more closely with the Afghan army and police in preparation for the transition to complete Afghan security control by 2014.

On Friday it was disclosed that U.S. troops have been ordered to carry loaded weapons at all times in Afghanistan, even when they are on their bases. The order was a precaution against insider attacks.

[formerlyluvnut]

afghani's are just as much neanderthal's & snakes as paki's and the rest of the middle east dust bowl. We need to get ALL our troops out and home and leave the cave dwellers be & let them kill each other.

[Elron_Aven]

Put the word out that the wives and all known family members of perps will be summarily executed when something like this happens.

It will stop very quickly. When respect doesn't work, go with fear.

[sobobx]

Actually, there are a lot of people who want the troops to stay in there because to take them out —?to these backwater idiots — would be showing America is a "coward." You don't think the Republican string pullers wouldn't jump on that like a loose ball in the end zone? The Koch Brothers and gang would easily pony up money for unlimited TV ads. And BTW, I did criticize President Obama. He should have pulled the troops out the day after bin Laden was whacked. We went to a bar fight, kicked a lot of behind, killed the ringleader, but instead of leaving with the premise of "Do something like 9/11 again and we'll come back and tear your bar up again," we, instead, stayed AFTER the brawl and tried to claim the bar as our own. Naturally, they're going to keep killing troops like this.

And Oldgee60 is right. War with Iran would be less than sixty days after Romney takes the oath. It's the Republican way.

[sobobx]

The Calltwoarms of this country are the real reason why great American Marines and soldiers are still being killed in Afghanistan for absolutely NOTHING. I'm a former Marine and I know EXACTLY what's going on. Bush and his handlers were so drunk on that koolaid of "American Exceptionalism" that they truly believed we could go over there and remake a bunch of stone age perverted religious nuts into a modern society. President Obama and his staff know %$#@ well that it will never happen, but he has not totally and instantly withdrawn the troops over there solely because there would be a chicken hawk Republican backlash in the election after the Koch Brothers would spend 50 mil on commercials calling President Obama a coward for retreating from Afghanistan before "the job was done," dishonoring American troops in the process. Many, many more high level terrorists have been killed over there by the drones and Special Ops under President Obama. Not to mention, fewer troops have been killed riding around needlessly in trucks and hitting IEDs, which was Bush's style. The only cowardice President Obama is guilty of is not standing up to the World War II mentality dolts of this country who still think we need to be in that hellhole. That country and its entire population is not worth one drop of a US Marine's or soldier's blood. GET OUT OF THAT DUMP NOW!

[Calltwoarms]

The military must adapt. There should be at least one troop assigned to monitor the Afghan recruits at all times. That person would have to keep the Afghans in his sights at all times while he scans them.

[nor-one]

Get out!!! Nobody in Afganistan wants you there except the puppt Karzi. Save somebody's son, husband or father, just get out!!!

[robert1129]

The Afghan people do not want us there; the American people do not want us there; the troops do not want to be there. Why are we still there? These incidents will not stop. They will grow in number and intensity. There is just no way to protect our guys so let's just start withdrawing now with everything that is not nailed down.

[farmmike]

Bush and Cheney need to personally meet all of these family members ands explain to them why it was necessary to start that war to begin with. Not one positive outcome, just death and family loss.

[UForgotPoland]

Complete pullout = no more attacks. The only people the AFghans would have to kill is each other so who would care? ..And if the Taliban comes back into power (the argument hardcore conservatives use for us staying there another 20 years), well that's what drones and airstrikes are for.