After Iraq Is Afghanistan Next?

The view is shown from a turret of a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle making its way back to Camp Leatherneck after a combat logistics patrol in Afghanistan's Helmand province, July 14, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alex Roberts

Is Afghanistan Is Going the Way of Iraq? -- Joshua Keating, Slate

The killing of Maj. Gen. Harold Greene by an Afghan soldier on Tuesday doesn’t just mark the first killing of a U.S. general in a war zone since Vietnam. It’s also a disturbing example of a problem that coalition forces had seemed to be getting under control: so-called insider, or “green-on-blue,” attacks.

In 2012 at least 52 coalition soldiers were killed by purported allies in the Afghan security forces. But perhaps thanks to improved screening and security measures, these attacks have become a lot less common. A Pentagon report issued earlier this summer stated that insider attacks had declined from 48 in 2012 to 15 in 2013 to just two in the first quarter of 2014.

But on Tuesday, in addition to the attack that killed Greene, the New York Times reports that an “Afghan police officer opened fire on American soldiers visiting the governor of Paktia Province.” This comes after a few weeks of alarming security news in Afghanistan, including the worst suicide bombing in the country since 2001, Taliban military gains in areas previously thought to be under government control, and worrying signs that the U.S.-brokered deal reached after the recent disputed presidential election may be unraveling.

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My Comment: Afghanistan is in many ways different from Iraq .... but there are similarities .... a persistent insurgency, political deadlock, ethnic/sectarian differences, and a culture of corruption. And while I am pessimistic on Afghanistan's future .... I also do not see the Taliban coming back to power .... they are too weak and fragmented to takeover the country. Unfortunately .... the Taliban still have the capability to spread chaos and mayhem with their attacks .... and this is something that I am sure they are going to pursue in the months and years to come.