However, Amos found that the commanders “did not exercise the level of judgment expected of General Officers” and had to be held accountable.
After initial investigations of the incident looked at overall security, Amos requested US Central Command, which oversees troops in the Middle East and Afghanistan, conduct a probe to assess “accountability.”
In the well-planned assault, 15 insurgents with wire cutters took advantage of reduced security around the base, including an unmanned watchtower. Troops from Tonga had been assigned the job of guarding the base’s perimeter.
The commandant acknowledged that the two generals had the difficult task of managing their mission with drastically reduced troop levels because of a drawdown mandated by President Barack Obama.
The number of US troops in the region under Gurganus’ command had declined from 17,000 when he took over in 2011 to 7,400 when the September 2012 attack took place.
But even with a smaller force, the generals should have taken more precautions to protect the base, Amos said.
“The fog of war, the uncertain risks of combat, and the actions of a determined foe do not relieve a commander of the responsibility for decisions that a reasonable, prudent commander of the same grade and experience would have made under similar circumstances,” Amos wrote.
The internal investigation had found that commanders were focused on the threat of insider attacks by Afghan soldiers turning on NATO-led troops.
Six months before the Taliban attack, an Afghan interpreter set himself on fire and drove a truck toward a line of officers waiting to greet the visiting US defence secretary. The truck crashed into a ditch.
One of the Marines killed in the September attack was Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Raible, a Harrier squadron commander, who confronted the Taliban fighters with his pistol.
Citing the two Marines killed in the assault, Amos said military leaders owed it to the troops who risked their lives on the battlefield to hold commanders to the highest standard.
About The Author
