British Army Lt. Gen. Adrian Bradshaw, ISAF’s deputy commander, said coalition troops are taking additional steps to protect themselves from “green-on-blue” attacks as they advise Afghan security forces. Since the upsurge in violence against NATO personnel by the Afghans, ISAF’s regional commands have all run assessments of risks at unit levels, said Bradshaw during via a videoconference from Kabul with Pentagon reporters on Oct. 3. The assessments caused “a brief pause” in partnered operations between NATO and Afghan forces in some areas, he said. “There may have been some minor adjustments. But largely . . . we are totally back to normal,” he noted. Afghan government counterintelligence officials are working with ISAF to improve the vetting process for Afghan soldiers and security forces, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is “very much engaged in this effort,” said Bradshaw. The Afghans have also adjusted the number of people involved in counterintelligence activities, and the Afghan government’s efforts with its military and with its ISAF partners are “a lot more joined up” now, he said. (AFPS report by Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.) (Bradshaw transcript)
In a show force over the Pacific, the U.S. conducted separate bilateral exercises with South Korea and Japan in response to North Korea’s May 24 ballistic missile test. The North’s test reportedly included an intercontinental ballistic missile, launched while President Joe Biden flew home from the region. Also on May…