Trainers in Afghanistan Arm Themselves Against Both Sides

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

In The Times today, Matthew Rosenberg (@mrosenbergNYT) reports from Bad Pakh, Afghanistan, on the new protective strategy used by military advisers to the Afghan Army: keep body armor on and weapons loaded, all the time. He writes of the advisers in a base in Bad Pakh: “Their guard was up even though they were there for a day of training Afghan soldiers without once leaving the confines of a fortified base - even when chatting with the Afghan officers over a lunch of goat meat and yogurt.”

The precautions come after a spate of attacks on American and allied troops this year. In reaction to the attacks, coalition forces have sharply reduced joint operations with Afghan troops, but the end of the American troop “surge” means that remaining forces must focus on preparing Afghans to fight on their own.

But Mr. Rosenberg reports that the tensions - even at this one base - seem to be running high, at least accor ding to some of the Afghan soldiers there:

“They come here and they look like they are going to fight us,” said Sgt. Abdul Karim Haq, 25, an Afghan soldier at the outpost. “They are always talking down to us like we are little children.”

Read the full article here.