A two star or Major General was killed Tuesday in an insider attack also referred to as a blue on green attack in Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, deputy commander of Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, according to reports, was killed at the Marshal Fahim National Defense University.
An Afghan soldier began firing with a Russian-made weapon in the PK family, a defense official told POLITICO, before he was shot and killed by NATO troops.
It wasn’t immediately clear who brought down the attacker — an American, allied or Afghan soldier.
Greene, of Falls Church, Va., is believed to be the highest ranking American general officer killed in action since Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude, the Army personnel boss killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon.
Greene arrived in Afghanistan earlier this year. He was a career Army engineer who had served in a variety of positions over the course of his career, including most recently as a top acquisitions deputy in the Pentagon.
President Barack Obama got an update Tuesday from top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. Joe Dunford, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.
It was not clear that any action beyond an investigation would be taken. President Obama has been planning to withdraw troops from Afghanistan this year anyway, so it is doubtful he would deviate from that intention.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel offered his “support” to Gen. Dunford and offered assistance to the joint U.S. – Afghan investigation. At the White House, Josh Earnest said Obama’s outlook on Afghanistan remained the right strategy and reminded reporters the country is and has been a war zone for years.
In an unrelated note, some members of the armed services, all of whom are currently deployed in war zones, will soon be notified by the Defense Department that they will be involuntarily discharged from the military at the end of their current tours.
Read more at https://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/americans-killed-afghan-attack-109722.html
