The Australian military’s official statements praising Afghan troops for helping to rebel a July Taliban attack has been thrown into doubt by a new US Army report which says those Afghan troops mostly just stood around and watched the battle. The report also says that NATO troops had a hard time telling the difference between the Taliban and the Afghan troops.
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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.
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The Afghans were probably just being smart- they didn't get involved because of the danger of 'friendly fire' from being misidentified, and they knew if the 'NATO' troops lost and they were caught fighting for them, they'd most likely be killed out of hand. If the 'NATO' troops won, no big deal and they go on for another day. Any way you want to describe it, having a 1/3 chance of surviving is for some a no-brainer.