From my point of view it is hard and difficult to make out wheather a person you walk or work with is really your enemy or friend.But for journalists like those working in CNN and taking almost every day a great risk in war zones to update us with the latest developments,it's a serious experience!

All Afghan drivers know that they are to remain 100 meters behind military convoys. It is for the protection of the civilians as much as it is for the military.

If an IED is targeted at the military and explodes it really can't do much damage to a civilian 100 meters behind. Similarly, a vehicle speeding at a military convoy will be seen as a threat more than 98% of the time.

It is unfortunate, but happens, rather infrequently I might add. I would like to thank the author for writing an article that is slanted in neither direction.

Distinguishing friend from from foe must be very difficult for these soldiers, sort of like trying to read English translated from Japanese with babel fish.

How would you know, Hideaki Nagano? Thank the God you worship for having never been put into the positon of having to decide and living with the decision for the rest of your life.

As a soldier serving with my brothers and sisters in Afghanistan working to bring security to these wonderful people, I agree with your blog comments regarding how it is often difficult to determine friend from foe. The Taliban are enemies of peace-loving Afghans and have no moral boundaries; they hide amongst the population to launch their attacks against peace-loving Afghans, such as in the horrific attacks in Kabul last week. What needs to also be considered about this incident, however, is the remarkable self-discipline demonstrated by those soldiers. Picture yourself as a 19 year-old private in that gunner's turret. Out of the dark of the night a car is suddenly speeding towards you in an area that has just experienced suicide bombers. The driver ignores warning lights, flashing of laser lights, warning shots, the shooting of a tire and other graduated responses, taken to avoid civilian casualties if at all possible. The vehicle only increases its speed towards the soldier and the convoy. The vehicle was finally disabled with several rounds fired into the engine block; the fact that the driver suffered only a minor wound to the hand and was immediately escorted to a local hospital by the soldiers is remarkable.
This incident does illustrate the complexity of identifying who is friend or foe in Afghanistan. It also demonstrates the remarkable composure and professionalism of those soldiers in a potentially life-threatening situation. But perhaps most importantly, it's also a clear example of how the U.S. military is taking all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties, especially when life-and-death decisions must be made in the blink of an eye.

If Soviet (former USSR) could not easily defeat the Mujaheedin (Afghanistan) fighters despite having thesame terrein; I keep on wondering how the Americans from a totally different terrain will fight and defeat this sort of people that the only thing they know is war since time inmemorial. It is like saying you want to fight and defeat the Jews, you can not just do it; Jews were born into wars, live in wars and die in wars. Thesame for the Afghanistan people. Just pray for wisdom to resolve the problem politically. It is a nuisance we have to accommodate and forge ahead. At times, you may have people like that in your nuclear family and you will be perplexed on what to do but tolerate. The other option is the option we use to eradicate rats and ants in our residence ie total fumigation to destroy all of them whether good or bad but this can never be the best option when it comes to human beings. This will surely become genocide.

Dear Olokunde Lekan Akande:

I am truely impressed with your wisdom and deep understanding of the situation in Afghanistan and the way you have put it in words. It is very real that Afghans are a hard nut to crack. The only solution available to the present situation is diplomacy. War is not an option. Oh by the way, for all those who think I am an Afghan...No I am not, I am an Indian Hindu.

This is really a big problem, we'e been neighbours for years now and failed to understand what we want from each other. And this is seriously causing problems for both the countries.
I hope this can be resolved soon

The story illustrated above has shown that US soldiers are becoming more conscious even at the the point of death to sacrifice whatever it takes to spare innocent afghans civilians from casualty. Foes many times disguised to perpetrate their evil plans and is unfortunate that some accidents cannot be avoided in this task. However, precautions will reduce them to lowest level.

I thought the article by Liuetenant Colonel Steven Osterholzer was excellent. It shows a side of the war we usually don't see in the media. Thanks for publishing it.

How to know, who are your friend from foe, among the ordinary
Afghanistan civilians or the Taliban enemies are very difficult. So all military soldiers or journalists/- reporters, or other people who are working or visiting Afghanistan must be on one's guard 24 hours a
day! And that stress/pressure and insecurity situation a very hard to
live with day after day, And also one of the main reason for the risk of life and limb in the future.

I have enormous amount of respect for the young men and women, who are not brain washed but in mostly clear mind opt to put themselves in a dangerous situation for the greater good of their country or community. There is a simple word in the English language to describe them it’s called altruistic (or in street words people who just do the right thing). It becomes complicated to do the right thing if those higher up the chain do not follow this altruism and start playing career, political, economic games that only complicate things further. The solution is more information, more knowledge and more education. So the good of this altruist people can be translated to good on the ground.
For greater knowledge the reason the Mujahedin prevailed against the soviets is not because they are tenacious people, which they are but because of a guy called Charlie Wilson who had enough altruism and knowledge in a very cynical culture to make it happen.
Read about him here: – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wilson_(politician)
Thank you CNN, thank you Wikipedia for spreading the knowledge