Today at Michael Yon's blog, Michael posted a disturbing article about the behavior of Spanish troops in Afganistan. The source of his article was an email written by a Lieutenant Colonel in the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan. Michael points out that he does not personally know the Lieutenant Colonel nor did he receive the email directly from the Lieutenant Colonel.
The email is about the abysmal, unsafe conditions which some of our most dedicated troops are living in, at a remote base run by the Spanish military in Afghanistan. Our military who use this base as a refueling stop have asked for certain improvements at the base to protect our troops as they refuel our planes. The Spanish have not complied.
Michael quotes directly from the email:
"USFOR-A needs to energize someone to develop a viable, enduring plan for this FARP that isn't reliant on the Spanish. This is a key hub for fuel (since we can't get trucks to [xxx] or [xxx]) so let's improve this location to better support those guys living out there on the edge by themselves. They refused to allow a Marine detachment that was dropped there to come into the wire or feed them overnight. Our refuelers had to fight the Spanish to bring them in and squeeze them into the two small tents that they have and give them MREs as they [sic] Spanish wouldn't feed them. Is this how we allow our Coalition partners to treat Americans?"
After World War II, America pledged to come to Europe's aid against future attacks. Europe in return has not developed its military because it depends on the US. Even though Afghanistan is supposedly a NATO effort, the majority of the heavy lifting in that war has been by America, Canada, Britain, and Australia. Although they have been asked to provide more troops, generally speaking Europe has not answered the call. It seems as if NATO has become a one way street in fighting the war on terror. It is time for the nations of Europe to step up to the plate.
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