War auditor compares Afghan policy to ‘lobotomy’
The long-serving auditor of the U.S. war in Afghanistan said that administration after administration has swapped out top officials so often that it amounts to an “annual lobotomy” of institutional knowledge.
“If we cannot end the annual lobotomy, we should at least mitigate its impact,” said John F. Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction.
“I assumed my current post in 2012. I’m now working with my fifth U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, my sixth NATO and U.S. commanding general, and eighth head of the U.S. train, advise, and assist command. Some 80% of the U.S. embassy departs each summer, and most of the U.S. military assigned to Afghanistan is deployed for a year or less,” he told a hearing led by Republican war critic, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
Just as bad, some diplomats are ignorant of the area. One example: The United States sent in officials “who did not know the difference between al Qaeda and the Taliban,” he said, speaking before this week's latest news that the U.S. is newly hopeful for a peace deal with the Taliban.
His audits have become famous inside some Washington circles for detailing corruption in the war-torn nation. Paul called Sopko “great.”
While he wouldn’t comment on leaving Afghanistan, Sopko did suggest that, short of a permanent U.S. staff, “we should listen” to Afghan officials “who have greater institutional and historical knowledge than their U.S. counterparts.”
WHILE THEY SQUANDER BILLIONS DEFENDING THE BORDERS OF MUSLIM DICTATORS THE MEX CARTELS ARE MOWING OVER OUR!
GRAPHIC: Seven Mexican Cartel Gunmen Killed in Two Days near Texas Border
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REYNOSA, Tamaulipas – Seven cartel members were killed and one innocent bystander was shot in a span of two days as rival factions of the Gulf Cartel fight for control of drug and human smuggling corridors into Texas. Carjackings affecting innocent motorists along Mexican border city highways are also spiking.
The string violence began on Tuesday shortly after 8 a.m. along the highway that connects Reynosa to Rio Bravo. A shootout began when state police officers responded to a call about a group of cartel members stealing a Toyota Highlander at gunpoint. Tamaulipas police began a search for the vehicle that was eventually spotted on a dirt road. The stolen SUV was moving with a convoy of cartel gunmen. Authorities tried to stop them, but the gunmen fired at police while trying to escape.
After a short chase, most of the gunmen managed to flee, however, one in a maroon Nissan sedan was injured and crashed into a barn. The gunman died shortly after impact.
While state cops dealt with the dead driver, a group of Mexican soldiers who were rushing to provide backup came across a white Toyota Tacoma with four armed passengers. The men fired at the approaching military force until all four were dead. The soldiers called for state authorities to send forensic investigators to document the scene.
The violence continued on Wednesday evening when a group of Gulf Cartel gunmen from the Reynosa or “Metros” faction entered Rio Bravo to kill a lookout for the “Escorpiones” or Matamoros faction. Hours later, gunmen leaked video to social media where they can be seen going up to the lookout and shooting him before leaving. Several citizen journalists shared the video as a way to document the violence that largely goes uncovered by legacy media outlets.
The violence continued Wednesday morning with several convoys of gunmen spotted in and around Reynosa. Soon after, skirmishes were reported in several neighborhoods. One took place in Campestre when gunmen shot at a cartel lookout but struck an innocent bystander inside a convenience store.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.A. Espinoza” and “A.C. Del Angel” from Tamaulipas.
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