“Well, it's a problem in general with the American military. If you are the biggest and the strongest military power in the world, you have this natural reluctance to learn the quirky ways of the natives in faraway lands.” IfsWorldWayWellsProblemNaturalLandMilitaryStrongestQuirkyReluctanceMilitary PowerAmerican Military 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
