Kill Team Suffered 'Discipline Breakdown' Apparently

We can file this report under 'No shit, Sherlock' in the little round filing cabinet on the floor. Where most US Army reports belong, come to think of it. But this Der Spiegel article is worth reading to get a snapshot of just what dire depths the US Army is now plumbing.

''The report documents how the clash of two military strategies created an atmosphere in which atrocities against Afghan civilians were regarded as normal, and provides evidence of a lack of control on the part of the leadership. The report details numerous examples of misconduct, such as soldiers smoking hashish in their Stryker vehicles, and relates that officers did not communicate properly with their subordinates.
The report reveals that Tunnell's approach and choice of words were incompatible with the COIN (counterinsurgency) strategy that General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan at the time, had introduced in 2007 in a bid to win over the trust of the local population.
Under COIN, the troops' primary aim became to protect the civilian population, deliver aid packages, talk with locals and live with them in the villages. The COIN approach had worked in Iraq, and the US Army hoped it could be transferred to Afghanistan.
The commander of the 5th Stryker Brigade, however, clearly regarded the COIN doctrine as ridiculous and inefficient. "US Army forces are not organized, trained or equipped to implement the doctrine and Americans are not culturally suited to accept predominantly European colonial and imperial tactical … and operational practices," Tunnell told General Twitty in a sworn statement. ''