Afghan recruits attacking NATO forces

LA Times:

...

A classified U.S. Army study based on 600 troop interviews, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, said "fratricide-murder" cases are provoking a crisis of confidence among Westerners working with Afghan forces. Recruits from the lower echelons of Afghan society are "somewhat prone to turning on and murdering their Western trainers," the report said.

Many Afghans interviewed for the report saw American troops as arrogant, culturally insensitive bullies who humiliated them by searching and disarming them in public and frequently violated women's privacy.

And American forces often characterized their Afghan counterparts as drug abusers and thieves who were also incompetent, corrupt and lazy with "repulsive hygiene."

Lt. Cmdr. Colette Murphy, spokeswoman for the NATO force in Afghanistan, said the report was systemically flawed and sensational, and relied on an inadequate sample, adding that "there will always be points of friction when cultures are forced to share close quarters and dangerous situations."

Despite Taliban boasts of responsibility, commanders in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said there's little direct evidence of sleeper cells or even much infiltration.

Still, they have stepped up countermeasures, including tougher screening for new Afghan recruits using iris scans, fingerprinting, drug-testing and database searches. And they've stationed more U.S. counterintelligence experts in Afghanistan to work with Afghan experts adept at recognizing cultural cues.

These include requiring that two elders vouch for every potential recruit, ensuring that they are well-known in the community, and flagging behavioral changes, such as when a moderately religious Afghan soldier becomes more hostile toward foreigners after time off, when he is most likely to face Taliban pressure.

...

It sounds like the same sudden jihad syndrome that effected the Fort Hood massacre shooter. You can never be sure when radical Islam will make one of these guys go off. screening for those made crazy by religion will continue to be difficult.