WASHINGTON, D.C. (YBH.ME) – Tom Bowman and Renee Montagne of NPR’s Morning Edition, hardly a conservative military think tank, highlighted the frustration American forces are facing under General Stanley McChrystal’s new rules of engagement in Afghanistan on yesterday’s show.
McChrystal's new rules of engagement test soldiers in Afghanistan
The Pentagon is employing a strategy of minimizing civilian casualties in an effort to win over the civilian population in Afghanistan while dealing with dangerous insurgents at the same time. This strategy, while potentially effective when it works, has led to frustration among U.S. troops.
During the segment, Mr. Bowman discusses a recent incident he witnessed first hand, in the Helmand River Valley in Afghanistan.
BOWMAN: Well, Renee, we were in this combat outpost down in southern Afghanistan, in the Helmand River Valley, and we were inside this center, a command center, watching a video screen. They were watching live while these guys were digging a hole for a roadside bomb. And there were other indicators, too, besides digging the hole. There was a guy swimming across a canal with this wire, and the wires are used to detonate the bomb… There were a couple of guys keeping watch and stopping traffic. And the Marines were intercepting a radio call from these suspected insurgents while they were doing these other activities.
MONTAGNE: And on the radio, they were saying we’re planting a bomb?
BOWMAN: And on the radio they were talking about planting a bomb.
MONTAGNE: So from the Marines perspective, the Afghans really did appear to be insurgents. So what did they do?
What the Marines did was let the insurgents flee, based on the new restrictive rules of engagement put in place to deter civilian casualties, it was the only thing they could do.
Mr. Bowman talked to a Marine named Lt. James Wendy after the incident. Mr. Wendy assured NPR that no one besides the enemy intent on killing American soldiers would have been hurt in the altercation. Asked why the Marines weren’t allowed to take action Mr. Wendy replied, “Honestly, I don’t know. I’d like to say I wish we could play by the big boy rules, you know, but, you know, it’s just the way it is.” Mr. Wendy went on to respectfully express frustration with Gen. McChrystal’s new policy.
NPR also contacted General McChrystal for the feature. Gen. McChrystal stated, “I’ve been at this a long time now, since 9/11, and there were a tremendous number of times when I’ve seen activities done, which, on the surface of what was seen, looks exactly one way, looks completely convincing. And then in the aftermath, what you saw was incomplete. In fact, what we find is civilian casualties who are unarmed civilians.”
Seemingly, General McChrystal understood the frustration of the soldier’s serving under him, he continued, “I think when we err on the side of maturity and caution, there is a cost. And I know that we’re asking an extraordinary amount from them to operate with such restraint and self-discipline, but I think it’s how we win the war.”
Critics of the new rules of engagement are sure to point out the similarities to the Byzantine rules U.S. servicemen faced in Viet Nam toward the end of that conflict.
Tom Bowman is a former Baltimore Sun reporter and currently serves as NPR’s Pentagon correspondent.
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John Romano is the publisher and editor of Yes, But However!, a musician, a former political correspondent for BBC Radio London, and a serial web entrepreneur. Follow him on twitter: twitter.com/yesbuthowever or John Romano on Google+John Romano article archive.
