President Obama on Monday defended his administration’s attempts to reduce the attacks on NATO troops in Afghanistan by members of the Afghan military or, at times, insurgents disguised as members of the military or police.
“Obviously we have been watching with deep concern the green-on-blue attacks,” Obama said. He said he has spoken earlier in the day with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey, who is currently in Afghanistan, and that he also planned to call Afghan President Hamid Karzai. “We’ve gotta make sure we’re on top of this,” Obama told reporters at an impromptu news conference.
Obama said steps are being taken to reduce the killings, including tougher screening processes for Afghan security forces and implementing a new "guardian angel" program, which requires one or two NATO troops monitoring Afghan troops during training and combat situations.
“Part of what's taking place is we are transitioning to Afghan security and for us to train them effectively, we are in much closer contact,” Obama said. “…part of what we've got to do is to make sure that this model works but it doesn't make our guys more vulnerable.”
In the last two weeks, there have been eight separate green-on-blue attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.
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