U.S. Army Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, fire mortar rounds at suspected Taliban fighting positions during Operation Mountain Fire, in the village of Barg-e Matal in eastern Nuristan province, Afghanistan, July 12. (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew C. Moeller, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)Probes Overlook McChrystal's Role In Costly Afghan Battles -- McClatchy News
WASHINGTON — Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, kept a remote U.S. base in the country manned last year at the local governor's request despite warnings from his field commanders that it should be closed because it was vulnerable and had no tactical or strategic value.
McChrystal's decision to maintain the outpost at Barg-e Matal prompted the top American commanders in eastern Afghanistan to delay plans to close a second remote U.S. outpost, Combat Outpost Keating, where insurgents killed eight U.S. troops in an assault Oct. 3, a McClatchy investigation has found.
Read more ....
Update: Slain medic's parents blast Army missteps in deadly ambush -- McClatchy News
My Comment: Kudos to McClatchy News for publishing this report. Many military bloggers have already voiced the same concerns and observations, but McClatchy's news man Jonathan S. Landay was at the ambush, and his observations and reporting is what has initiated this investigation and search for accountability. This work is worthy of a Pulitzer Prize.
As to what is my take .... both attacks and the heavy casualties that it produced reveals how our rules of engagement coupled with the lack of manpower and resources has hurt our objectives and strategies in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the men (at the top) who were/are responsible for these decisions are not the ones who are now being scrutinized .... and probably will never be as long as the Afghan war continues at the pace that it is.
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