Probe: Troops left exposed in deadly Afghan attack

AP/google ^ | 6-10-10 | Richard Lardner

[STARWISE]

A U.S. military investigation says command failures left American soldiers in an indefensible position without adequate support when hundreds of insurgents attacked their remote outpost in northeastern Afghanistan with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and guns. Eight troops died.

Twenty-two others were wounded during the October 2009 attack on Combat Outpost Keating, one the deadliest battles during the nearly decade-long war.

The investigation released Friday by U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., recommended giving four officers letters of admonition or reprimand for putting the 53 American troops in a vulnerable position at the outpost in mountainous Nuristan province near the Pakistan border.

[STARWISE]

Oct. 25, 2009: Obama plays golf instead of deciding whether to send more troops to Afghanistan - McChrystal issued his report 8 weeks ago, when will Obama issue a decision?

*snip*

For weeks, President Obama has been indecisively dithering about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan to fight what he correctly calls a “war of necessity.” General Stanley A. McChrystal’s report, in which he requests more troops, was issued at the end of August.

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Hatch: 'I hope' Obama not delaying troop decision to help Corzine and Deeds

Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch brought up a claim he said "some people" have made, that President Barack Obama is waiting until after this year's gubernatorial election in New Jersey and Virginia before making a decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan.

__________________________

Damn him .. he could've cared and cares less .. and brave souls needlessly die. Unconscionable. There's a special room in Hell. God bless and protect our magnificent troops, fighting and suffering for us daily under this heartless, brazenly reckless CIC.

[NWFLConservative]

Obama hates the military, he always has. So it comes as no surprise he would leave them twisting in the wind.

[Jaxter]

Bump.

[Melchior]

I well remember this event. However, I was never able to understand why the commanding officer on the ground, understanding that he was being asked to occupy ground where his people were sitting ducks, did not move the operation to high ground. Did he request a move? Was it one of those, ‘you will do what we tell you,’ or was it a failure on both ends.

[Parmy]

Is this the incident that was featured on 60 minutes some time ago. If it was, the general that met with the parents of the KIAs had written reprimands and then turned around and recinded them.

[Parmy]

Is this the incident that was featured on 60 minutes some time ago. If it was, the general that met with the parents of the KIAs had written reprimands and then turned around and recinded them.

[Parmy]

Is this the incident that was featured on 60 minutes some time ago. If it was, the general that met with the parents of the KIAs had written reprimands and then turned around and recinded them.

[Parmy]

Is this the incident that was featured on 60 minutes some time ago. If it was, the general that met with the parents of the KIAs had written reprimands and then turned around and recinded them.

[Wolfie]

Sooner or later we’ll learn the same lesson the Russians did. Probably later.

[ilovesarah2012]

Why are we still there?

[Lancey Howard]

(( ping ))

[STARWISE]

Pray for them ..

[penelopesire]

The fault for this needless tragedy can be laid squarely at the feet of Obama. We all knew his dithering and new ROE caused this..now it’s official!

Prayers for our troops! They deserve better.

[blueunicorn6]

Those officers could all run two miles in under 14 minutes, so what’s the problem? Stupidity? If we punished people for stupidity, there wouldn’t be an admiral or general left.

[Girlene]

Thanks for the ping, Lancey. Action taken in COP Keating attack

....However, the 15-6, by Lt. Gen. Guy Swan, .......lauded the soldiers of B Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, of Fort Carson, Colo., for their actions.

“[The soldiers] repelled an enemy force of 300 Anti-Afghan fighters, preserving their combat outpost and killing approximately 150 of the enemy fighters,” Swan wrote in his executive summary. “The soldiers distinguished themselves with conspicuous gallantry, courage and bravery under the heavy enemy fire that surrounded them.”

[Uncle Miltie]

"Eight troops died."

"killing approximately 150 of the enemy"

Any dead American soldier is a Bad Thing.

However, I have watched the engagement statistics in Iraq and Afghanistan closely over the years. When the Enemy Killed / American Killed ratio is over 10:1, that's a comparatively successful engagement. When the ratio is less than 10:1, that is a bad engagement.

We should always learn from mistakes, and perhaps some were made here and people should be punished.

But on a purely statistical level, this engagement was (in my opinion), slightly to our advantage in comparison to the long-term average.

Before flaming, please refer again to my original sentence.

[hinckley buzzard]

While I agree with what you say, I also lived through the VietNam War era and as a result I pay no credence to body counts of the enemy dead.

Maybe the gubmint is more honest now, but they lie about everything else, so I have no reason to believe it is so.

[thouworm]

“command failures left American soldiers in an indefensible position without adequate support”

The biggest command failure -— BHO, the sociopath CiC.

Here is a list of ways to identify a sociopath. This list is from “Profile of a Sociopath.” Is is a pretty good list of sociopathic indicators.

Glibness/superficial charm
Manipulative and conning
Grandiose sense of self
Pathological lying
Lack of remorse, shame or guilt
Shallow emotions
Incapacity for love
Need for stimulation
Callousness/lack of empathy
Poor behavioral controls/impulsive nature
Early behavior problems/juvenile delinquency
Irresponsibility/unreliability
Promiscuous sexual behavior/infidelity
Lack of realistic life plan/parasitic lifestyle
Criminal or entrepreneurial versatility
Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
Authoritarian
Secretive
Paranoid
Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
Conventional appearance
Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)
Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim’s life
Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim’s affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)
Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim
Incapable of real human attachment to another
Unable to feel remorse or guilt
Narcissism, grandiosity (self-importance not based on achievements)
May state readily that their goal is to rule the world

(Obviously, in order to be a sociopath a person doesn’t have to exhibit anything like all the above. Usually, the lack of a conscience, the manipulation of others, dishonesty and the inability to love and/or have lasting and profound personal relations and cruelty are key symptoms and often much more revealing than having been in trouble with the courts.)

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_know_if_someone_is_a_sociopath
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Keywords for many of the FR threads on this attack:

campkeating; kamdesh; nuristan;

[penelopesire]

Thanks for the ping. I remember your many thoughtful and important posts when this horrible event happened.

I am quickly coming to the opinion that we should get out of Afghanistan,Iraq and Libya(especially Libya). Our troops deserve to be led by a true leader who loves this country as much as they do and clearly...that is not the case with Mr. Obama.

[penelopesire]

Thanks for the ping. I remember your many thoughtful and important posts when this horrible event happened.

I am quickly coming to the opinion that we should get out of Afghanistan,Iraq and Libya(especially Libya). Our troops deserve to be led by a true leader who loves this country as much as they do and clearly...that is not the case with Mr. Obama.