National Guardsmen shooting spotlights the danger of insider attacks and I should know

Last week’s deadly shooting of US service members patrolling the nation’s capital confirmed what American veterans like me who served in the war in Afghanistan have known for decades: Among Afghans, honor trumps loyalty, and even the closest ally can turn killer.Army National Guard Spc.Sarah Beckstrom’s shooting death allegedly at the hands of an Afghan national who was cleared to work closely with US military personnel is hardly an anomaly.Rahmanullah Lakanwal is just the latest supposedly highly vetted Afghan military partner accused of turning his weapon on American troops.He’s also just the latest Afghan transplant to resort to violence after struggling to assimilate in the United States.As a US Army infantryman who led troops in Afghanistan, last week’s targeted shooting brought home painful memories.During my time in Afghanistan from 2012 to 2013, a key cause of death for US troops came from so-called Green on Blue incidents, or “insider attacks,” where supposedly friendly Afghans ambushed allied troops, often in lone wolf attacks.Nearly 150 coalition service members, mostly Americans, were killed in Afghanistan from insider attacks, with the majority of deaths occurring during later stages of the war, as Afghan forces assumed greater responsibility for security operations.These were the good guys, the Afghans that US troops could supposedly trust to seize an enemy bunker or protect their flank in an assault.Very often, the motives behind these attacks were psychological.Typically, the insiders weren’t Taliban turncoats or ideological jihadists, but low-ranking, exceptionally poor soldiers who used violence when they felt insulted or disrespected by international troops.In a shame and honor-based society, the barracks-square discipline that Western militaries impose on rank-and-file soldiers could provoke violent reactions from Afghan recruits, who might view shouting or corrective physical training as grave insults.In other cases, attacks res...