Afghan police sometimes high on drugs, British commander tells inquest

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

The commanding officer of five British servicemen killed by a rogue Afghan policeman has claimed local officers could lack commitment, were sometimes high on drugs and were open to corruption.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Walker described one episode in which an Afghan police officer passed on ammunition to the Taliban in exchange for narcotics. Walker, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, also told how his men were posted at the checkpoint where they were shot dead following a "blood feud" between an Afghan policeman and a local Taliban commander.

At the start of the inquest into his men's deaths, Walker also insisted that the Afghan police force was full of men determined to do good for their country and he said there was "deep shock" and "shame" within the force following the killing of the five British men.

Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, Sergeant Matthew Telford and Guardsman James Major, all of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, died alongside Corporal Steven Boote and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith from the Royal Military police on 3 November 2009. Another six soldiers and two Afghan policemen were injured in the attack.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/17/afghanistan-policeman-killed-british-troops

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Meanwhile, American police sometimes smuggle drugs from evidence, I've heard. How's that war on drugs going?

[montanto]

1. No way!! People in the land of the Hindu Kush get high?

[bemildred]

2. Damn! Yes, I've even heard this sort of thing can happen in other militarys too!

And not just alcohol and tobacco either. Narcotics! Psychedelics! Speed! Downers! Wild sex parties!
:sarcasm: