Two incidents that occurred this week have put U.S. troops in Afghanistan into an awkward position once again.
The first is that the special plane of General Martin Dempsey, U.S. chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was bombed in Afghanistan.
Recently, foreign troops in Afghanistan have been frequently attacked by Afghan security guards. Since the beginning of 2012, 32 incidents of this kind have occurred, claiming lives of 40 foreign soldiers. U.S. soldiers must fight hard against Taliban militants while bewaring of Afghan military police who they trained personally. Therefore it can be imagined that their situation is extremely difficult.
The other awkward incident is about the U.S. ally New Zealand.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand said on Aug. 20 that it is “most likely” that New Zealand’s troop will leave Afghanistan ahead of the plan in April, 2013. New Zealand is not the first country planning to withdraw its troops in advance. As early as May, 2012, the French President said that French troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of year. At that time, some analysts believed that France's withdrawing troops perhaps would have a demonstration effect. Now, the prediction has become true.
