Divided Loyalties

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke Wednesday about the importance of training and equipping Afghan forces to combat the Taliban insurgency:

But it is not just what our and their brave soldiers can accomplish on the battlefield that is central to success in Afghanistan. An enduring requirement is the ability to rapidly train, equip, and advise Afghan security forces – as we are doing to improve the size and quality of Afghanistan’s army and police.

Yet, what happens when these American-trained forces turn their American-funded guns against the Afghan government? As it turns out, such a problem already exists in the form of small, rogue Taliban groups like this one:

The reasoning behind this apparent shift in allegiance is self-evident. Afghan forces are being turned off by what they're calling "anti-Muslim behavior from international soldiers" -- drinking, prostitution, etc. Surely, American policy-makers and military leaders were aware of the potential for ideological disillusionment among Afghan security forces.

Still, the problem is harder to prevent than it is to diagnose. International forces -- especially American ones -- have to make sure their behavior toward and around Afghan trainees is compatible with Islam. If not, they run the risk of alienating Afghan forces, as has been the case with these recent defectors.

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