A few words about the death of the CIA agents in AFG.
First and most of all I would like to lament and send condolences to the families of the American Agents killed last week in Afghanistan.
There is absolute NO reason why this should have happened. We have been at this war for almost 9 years and we are still loosing our troops to stupid and amateurish mistakes.
There is an epidemic in our ranks, from the lowest to the highest that it is not easy to control and the cure against it comes way too late. It is called Complacency. The enemy counts on it and the enemy will exploit it every time because we fall so easily under its spell.
In 2005, the same thing happened to my troops. The attack came from an enemy so adaptable that it was easy to evade our defenses and killed two Americans and 9 Iraqis.
We were 100% sure that the attack was coming as a suicide bomber and it was going to be one of the Iraqis working inside the compound. We knew that the attack was going to be against the mess hall or the living quarters. very logical locations because the higher concentration of people. We had built that place with Iraqi labor and Iraqi materials and a few months later we found out that those workers had given information to the terrorist about the facilities inside the jail we were in charged of protecting and running.
It was an inside job that took a few months to get it going. The suicide bomber first target was the living quarters, but failed to get there because we had just added a few extra doors and guards to the second floor where we were staying. So he decided to go to his secondary objective that was the mess hall.
We were checking all people going to the mess hall to eat. There was a lot of traffic around the building and never paid any attention to those people coming and going a few steps away from the exit door of the mess hall. That SOB was able to get in through the exit door and detonate his vest.
We learned from that mistake at the cost of many lives.
There is NOT a better intelligence agency in the world than the CIA. I have worked with them in Colombia, Iraq and spoken with them here and I have to tell you that they know their stuff. But mistakes are made and people die because of complacency and two another factors that are rarely addressed:
There are a few people in the intelligence business that think because they are in the "Intelligence Business" they themselves are intelligent and certain laws that apply to lower humans don't apply to them. I have seen this and I will give you two examples:
I am smarter than you are!!!!!!
In 2005 when entering our jail, the Military Intelligence people would NOT clear their weapons nor their "guests" were searched for concealed weapons nor explosives. Their Uniforms were sterile (no names nor any unit markings) and their interpreter would wear a mask to protect his identity. The female in charge told me that they were a security detail and were there just to check things out. I asked again what was she doing in my jail and again she said the same thing. On the third time she finally told me that they were Counter Intelligence and please keep it to myself. I told her that inside the jail we had many ex-intelligence officers from Saddam's army and if she thought that by coming here with that lame bullshit story she was going to fool anyone that she was going to get her team killed. I also told her that the mask for her interpreter had to come off, but she said that that was not going to happen. I gave her a choice, he either takes it off or I will arrest his ass and put him in jail. So they left.
Arrogance!!!!
A few years later one MI Officer in the US Army wanted to "talk" to one of my linguists because he over heard her say something about "Taliban." He identified himself to my boss and ordered him to get her interview by him. In no gentle terms my boss told him to get fucking lost. Another officer, later, told me that this MI Major was flashing his ID card to anyone that could get him special treatment while here in Georgia. A full bird Colonel had to tell this Major that it was was NOT his lane and the lady in question had a clearance, equal or higher, than him.
Of course I am not saying that all of them are like the people I have described before, but a few have the mentality that their status as an Intelligence agent makes him more equal that others.
I have worked in the MI field before and there is NO better and more intelligent group of minds in this world that those of the CIA.
I know that all local civilians are searched when entering any FOB. Why was this individual NOT searched? Because the officers were complacent. Because some in the higher ranks believe that the rules for a Corporal or a Lieutenant don't apply to the higher life forms.
It is human nature to fail. Every generation learns this the hard way.
I have said a prayer for the dead and for the ones that survived.
I hope that you understand what I am trying to say.
posted by Rob @ 7:02 AM
1 comments
