Several issues here: (1) Afghan cultural issues may frustrate success no matter how capable or industrious the military CI agents are or what techniques they may propose; (2) except for a few small and specialized strategic units, military CI is pretty unsophisticated; (3) even though military CI is pretty primitive, we're not exactly overstocked in that particularly skill set; (4) in the case of Air Force and Navy, CI agents are also conventional criminal investigators and that never bodes well from a CI perspective.
U.S. Sending Training Agents To Afghanistan To Stem Infiltration Of Local Forces
By Ray Rivera and Eric Schmitt
New York Times, June 11, 2011, Pg. 8
KABUL, Afghanistan — Concerned over the growing pattern of Afghan soldiers and police officers attacking their coalition counterparts, the American military is sending 80 counterintelligence agents to Afghanistan to help stem the threat of Taliban infiltration in the Afghan National Security Forces, military officials said Friday.
Phi Beta Iota: Sending 80 alleged counterintelligence specialists at this late date (mostly enlisted, none with language or foreign culture skills) is worse than a joke, it is a clear indication that the flag officers in charge of the mess have no intention of leaving and also have no clue. This is bad theater at best.
