Enablers and your Trust

[Kalich]

On my last tour in Afghanistan we had a fella , who didnt speak english very well but he was the biggest Afghan ive ever seen easily over 6'4 200 pounds plus , he was an ex mujahadeen , I guess he fought the soviets back in the day and now when the Taliban killed his family he opted to work for us as not quite the terp but more of a guide , things worked well with him , all our detainees went through him and he came out with information that he got from them which was usually pretty good INT . Somedays though he wouldnt come out to work with us saying he was ill and sure enough we would get lit up . Us troppies discussed it at the lowest level saying this guy might swing both ways , but nothing was ever said to any of the brass because they would not hurt his feelings . My question to you gents is how much trust would you put into an enabler/interpreter /guide , considering how much is on the line .

[Guy]

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer....

Stay safe.

[Leozinho]

Originally Posted by Kalich

. Us troppies discussed it at the lowest level saying this guy might swing both ways , but nothing was ever said to any of the brass because they would not hurt his feelings . My question to you gents is how much trust would you put into an enabler/interpreter /guide , considering how much is on the line .

I need a little clarification. Did you mean the soldiers never said anything to their superiors about their suspicions, or do you mean the brass would never say anything to the Afghan because they didn't want to offend him?

If it's the former, I think you have to speak up. Your greatest weapon is your mind, and it's possible that you guys have noticed something that your leaders haven't.

There is no way I would let an intepreter pick and choose his missions. If a bone is not sticking out, then he's coming out with us. If he's truly sickly than maybe he needs to find a new job anyway.

Having said that, you are going to have work with people that you can't fully trust. There are ways to minimize the risk inherent with working with locals that I'm sure you know and they don't need to be discussed here. But I also suspect that many units disregard these precautions.

Good luck.

[Para]

How many times did he pull the "I am not feeling so well" and you got lit up? First time may be a coincidence. Second and third time brings on suspicion.

How is the unit's OPSEC? Does he know in advance where and when missions will be conducted? Does he recieve enough information to coordinate an attack with the enemy? We never tell our host nation personnel where we were going until we exited the gate and then it was usually limited to "turn right here" and turn left there".

Are you saying he would conduct his own tactical questioning and come back to you guys with the results? Was there a non-Afghan presence with him during the tactical questioning or was he in the room alone?

[Kalich]

" I need a little clarification. Did you mean the soldiers never said anything to their superiors about their suspicions, or do you mean the brass would never say anything to the Afghan because they didn't want to offend him?"

they (brass) didn't want to offend him , because they saw him as a great asset , which he was cause it seemed he could smell who was Taliban and who wasn't , but at the same time I sure as hell know we were just a paycheck to him and since he wasn't an official Terp(je carried his own RPK) it was always in the end of orders that He was tagging along with us for the OP ( so yes he picked and choose d his go's with us )

OPSEC was good within the Unit but somehow it seemed our unnoficial terp always avoided the worst confrontations that happened or sat in the back of the carrier while firefights went down . The good thing about this guy was he conducted his own TQ right on the spot with the guys who tested positive with the gun residue kits , his methods were unorthodox but he got them singing like caneries for information . Seeing how well his methods worked the brass took a liking to him and took the information that he got from the handjis .

[Para]

Originally Posted by Kalich

The good thing about this guy was he conducted his own TQ right on the spot with the guys who tested positive with the gun residue kits , his methods were unorthodox but he got them singing like caneries for information.

Be careful of this. Unless you speak the language, you have no idea what the detainee is saying and what the interpreter is fabricating. When you give him the authority to conduct his own tactical questioning and allow an untrained individual the use "unothodox techniques" you have just attached your name, and worst, your nations identity to his actions. I am assuming you are not a trained interrogator and you do not have a trained interrogator who roams the battlespace with you. This 'ghan has been given an implied authority, he is documented as working with your unit and someone is on a slippery slope that can have a worst case potential of resulting in international attention, i.e. war crimes, which results in a prison sentance for those involved and in Canada, well what happened to the Airborne Regiment in the 90's? There are rules and regulations about how detainees must be processed and what is and is not allowed with regards to tactical questioning. For us, it is a 3" thick binder and I would imagine yours closely mirrors ours.

Has anyone put him through any form of vetting process?

[jbour13]

Originally Posted by Kalich

On my last tour in Afghanistan we had a fella , who didnt speak english very well but he was the biggest Afghan ive ever seen easily over 6'4 200 pounds plus , he was an ex mujahadeen , I guess he fought the soviets back in the day and now when the Taliban killed his family he opted to work for us as not quite the terp but more of a guide , things worked well with him , all our detainees went through him and he came out with information that he got from them which was usually pretty good INT . Somedays though he wouldnt come out to work with us saying he was ill and sure enough we would get lit up . Us troppies discussed it at the lowest level saying this guy might swing both ways , but nothing was ever said to any of the brass because they would not hurt his feelings . My question to you gents is how much trust would you put into an enabler/interpreter /guide , considering how much is on the line .

Every Soldier a sensor and every Afghan a facilitator......ya feel me!!

I definately would have spoken up and possibly play on it if you could. Many ways, and I mean many.

You are not the first that has been played and will most assuredly not be the last.