Report: Eight Americans Died for Worthless Afghan Base

Executive Summary Notes Base Had 'No Tactical or Strategic Value'

An executive summary was released today regarding the October Taliban attack on Combat Outpost Keating, a Nuristan Province base. The attack was driven back, but not before eight Americans were killed.

But while the military’s report praised the troops “gallantry, courage and bravery” in the clash, it cast serious doubt on why the troops were put there in the first place, noting that the outpost had “no tactical or strategic value” and was virtually undefendable.

US troops abandoned the base just days later, with commanders insisting they had planned to abandon it all along. It is now clear why, the base was “a sitting duck.”

According to the report, officials wanted to close the facility as soon as they could, but commanders repeatedly delayed the closure, leaving the Americans as a target for the attack that eventually came. The incident was one of several the US military is investigating over failures by commanders.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.