“The other problem is that the priority of many soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan is operational security: not getting killed. Now that is a very valid priority, but it has to be balanced against many other priorities, especially not killing too many locals in the process.” ProblemProcessSecurityKillingSoldierIraqPrioritiesLocalsAfghanistanBalanced Author:Yaroslav Trofimov
“In the occupation in Afghanistan, there are tragedies as well. It's not as bad as in Iraq because there are fewer American troops. But, as I describe in the book, going out on patrol and coming into a village, the soldiers found a stash of documents and decided this was Taliban propaganda.” WellsBookFoundDecidedTragedySoldierIraqPropagandaVillageOccupationAfghanistanFewerTroopsGoing OutDocumentsTalibanAmerican Troops Author:Yaroslav Trofimov
“But in Afghanistan, the general rule was that since you were fighting the Taliban, which was not a lawful government force, the Geneva Conventions did not apply. And that led to a lot of excesses in Afghanistan, excesses like Abu Ghraib that were already well-publicized.” WellsGovernmentFightingForceAfghanistanExcessConventionsTalibanGenevaAbu GhraibGeneva Convention Author:Yaroslav Trofimov
