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By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C.Marshall Jr.American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2012 – In aninterview on the CBS program “60 Minutes” last night, the commander of U.S. andcoalition forces in Afghanistan said he takes his mission personally and isangered by insider attacks by Afghan security forces and militants wearingAfghan uniforms.
“I'm mad as hell about them, to behonest with you,” Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the NATO-ledInternational Security Assistance Force, told CBS correspondent Lara Logan.“We're going to get after this. It reverberates everywhere across the UnitedStates. We're willing to sacrifice a lot for this campaign, but we're notwilling to be murdered for it.”
The general said it is important tounderstand the Afghan people still support ISAF troops and their mission toguide Afghan troops as they prepare to take full responsibility for security intheir country.
“The key point is for us to understandthat the vast majority of the Afghans, … they're with us in this,” Allen said.“They understand right now the severity of this problem and the urgency ofwhat's happening.”
Afghans have been killed trying to savecoalition forces when some attacks have been under way,” the general noted.“[It] was the only reaction that they could have taken … to try to save us atthat moment of attack,” he said.
More than 50 coalition members have beenkilled by insider attacks this year. Allen said insurgents recognize thevulnerability posed as coalition forces work alongside Afghan counterparts, andthey have adapted their tactics to exploit it.
“In Iraq, the signature weapon systemthat we hadn't seen before was the [improvised explosive device],” he said. “Wehad to adjust to that. Here, I think the signature attack that we're beginningto see is going to be the insider attack.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, alsointerviewed in the segment, acknowledged the attacks and pledged to help ISAFeliminate the threat. “These attacks are sad,” he said. “This is something Ihave discussed in detail, something that I bear responsibility for to correct.”
Allen also discussed the presence ofal-Qaida and ISAF’s commitment to continuing to “target and eliminate them.”
“Al-Qaida has come back, [and] is aresilient organization,” he said. “But they're not here in large numbers. Butal-Qaida doesn't have to be anywhere in large numbers.”
The terrorist organization is notsignificant in a traditional military sense, Allen said. “Al-Qaida hassignificance beyond its numbers, frankly,” he added. “And so for us, our24-hour-a-day objective is to seek out those al-Qaida cells.”
It is important to ensure al-Qaidadoesn’t feel as though it can put down roots in Afghanistan, the general said,and while security isn’t perfect around the country, there has been muchimprovement.
“An awful lot of the population of thiscountry is living in an area where there is vastly improved security from whereit was just a few years ago,” he said.
Meanwhile, Allen said, coalitionofficials are doing a great deal to address terrorist safe havens in Pakistan,and the relationship between ISAF forces and the Pakistani military hasimproved dramatically.
“There's a very complex relationshipwith Pakistan, and we'll work very hard and very closely with the Pakistanimilitary to achieve common objectives,” he said. “But to some extent, thePakistani military has been successful in cooperating with us in the lastseveral months with regard to complementary operations on both sides of theborder, but much more needs to be done.”
ISAF is doing everything it can withinits authority to hunt down and kill Haqqani network operatives in Afghanistanwho “ultimately threaten my troops, threaten the Afghan troops and the Afghansociety, the Afghan civilians, and ultimately the Afghan government,” Allensaid.
The general also described his intensecommitment to the mission in Afghanistan, which he said often leads him to“turn around and go back” to work some nights after asking himself while he’swalking home if he’s done enough.
“I came here believing this would be thelast job I'd ever have,” Allen said. “I don't care about anything beyond this.This is what's important to me. I almost can't remember ever having beenanywhere else.
“This is completely consuming for me,and I am dedicated 24 hours a day to these magnificent troops, to the Afghans,to this cause, and ultimately to successful completion,” he continued. “This isvery personal to me. And I take it very personally.”
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