American trained Afghanistan police force incapable of carrying out work

[cynatnite]

Five years after the fall of the Taliban, a joint report by the Pentagon and the State Department has found that the American-trained police force in Afghanistan is largely incapable of carrying out routine law enforcement work, and that managers of the $1.1 billion training program cannot say how many officers are actually on duty or where thousands of trucks and other equipment issued to police units have gone.

In fact, most police units had less than 50 percent of their authorized equipment on hand as of June, says the report, which was issued two weeks ago but is only now circulating among members of relevant Congressional committees.

In its most significant finding, the report said that no effective field training program had been established in Afghanistan, at least in part because of a slow, ineffectual start and understaffing.

Police training experts who have studied or had first-hand experience with the American effort in Afghanistan said they agreed with the report’s findings, and some said they had warned for years that field training was the backbone of a strong program. But they said additional problems needed to be investigated, including the quality of private contractors and the cost and effectiveness of relying on them to train the police officers. In particular, the experts questioned why the report focused on United States government managers and only glancingly analyzed the performance of the principal contractor in Afghanistan, DynCorp International of Virginia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/world/asia/04police.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

[SoCalDem]

1. Our style of policing is totally foreign to them. It will NEVER work

Their way of doing things is not what we would prefer, but we cannot impose our lifestyle and practices on them..no matter how hard we try.

They will wear the uniforms and parade around, and pretend to do things our way, but it's really just for the free weapons.

as soon as we turn away, they will go back to the way they always did things.. tribal justice, feuds, and sharia law.

these people are not a bunch of laid-back tropical isle people who just want to laze around on the beach all day..These are hardscrabble, religious zealots, who are used to seeing death close-up. they will not easlity bend to our ways..

[izzie]

2. I read that item and feel like you do on it.

I have felt this since before we went in. You can not make a society think in a Western way just because you wish it. I think when they bring up Japan they for get what their society is like and just what we did to it. Like land reforms and womens rights which I would say are hardly like our own even now. People for get that Germany was a Western culture and had a 100 years of a some what constitutional govt. even if it had not worked all the time. Some how their Kaiser and Hitler could always go around it but they did have a history and so much we took from their enlightenment. It just dives one crazy as these people in DC know a lot more than I so how come I see it and they can not? It has to be this "I know what is right' stuff.

[cynatnite]

3. Just so you know...

The only place where the government works is in Kabul. The rest of the country...well, the tribes have the run of it. The US wasn't willing to fully commit to Afghanistan like it promised because Saddam was more important. The sent in a minimal amount of troops, bribed tribes with weapons and money, let Bin Laden go and did next to nothing about the opium trade.

As soon as the world was looking at Iraq, bush washed his hands of this country and went his own way while paying Karzai lip service. I like Karzai and respect him, but the US has undermined him so completely that he's nothing more than a figurehead now. It's really a shame.

I like this country and have read about it since I was a kid. I found it a fascinating place with interesting people. I remember when the Soviets left and I was thinking what a strong, resilient people they are. Then the Taliban came.

It was my hope that the one thing bush could do right was help this country achieve a stable government and get rid of these assholes inflicting their deadly brand of religion on innocent people. It saddens me at the complete mismanagement and neglect.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Taliban are negotiated right back into power.

[SoCalDem]

4. Karzai, the oilman is little more than the mayor of Kabul

and I would not be surprised if even HE leaves if we bail out.

Poor Afghanistan.. They are a beleaguered country to be sure..

[luckyleftyme2]

5. THE GAME IS (RIPOF THE PUBLIC)

ANYWHERE WE HAVE SPENT MONEY FOR AN AGGRESIVE ACT IN THE PAST 30 YEARS OF THE REAGAN,BUSH SR. OR BUSH JR. ADMINISTRATION LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY AND EQUIPMENT IS MISSING.
THIS IS THE MAIN AGENDA= GETTING LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY IN THE PLAYING FIELD SO THEY CAN STEAL IT WHILE WAVING THE FLAG AND SCREAMING YOUR UN-AMERICAN IF YOU TRY TO MAKE THEM ACCOUNTABLE OR QUESTION THEIR METHOD.
AND ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW MANY OF THESE PEOPLE ARE EX-ADMINISTRATION OR EX- INTELLIGENT PEOPLE?
IT 'S TIME WE PLAYED HARD BALL WITH THESE PEOPLE!