As you may have heard, three officers from the Afghan army who were participating in training exercises at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod have not been seen since Saturday evening, when they were last known to be at a mall in Hyannis. It’s not a trivial story, and it’s right for people to pay attention.
That said, I find the reporting at the Globe and Herald instructive. Each paper reports the basic facts; each includes some facts that the other omits. Let’s compare. The facts omitted by the other paper are in bold.
The search continues this morning for three Afghan National Army soldiers who went missing from a training exercise at Joint Base Cape Cod.
Major Jan Mohammad Arash, Captain Mohammad Nasir Askarzada, and Captain Noorullah Aminyar were last seen at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis on Saturday evening, according to Colonel James Sahady, a Massachusetts National Guard spokesman.
“I am told that they pose no immediate threat,” Sahady said by telephone Sunday night. “They are all senior-ranked soldiers that were allowed to come here.”
Sahady said this morning that the men all had valid visas and passports and were free to come and go from the base. Sahady said that further comment could be coming soon from US Central Command.
Three Afghanistan National Army officers were reported missing from an international military training exercise at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod after they disappeared without explanation.
Maj. Jan Mohammad Arash, Capt. Mohammad Nasir Askarzada and Capt. Noorullah Aminyar were all last seen at Cape Cod Mall on Saturday, the day they were reported missing, said Massachusetts National Guard Col. James Sahady.
“There is no indication that they pose any threat to the public,” Sahady said. In Afghanistan, shootings of American soldiers by rogue Afghan soldiers has been an ongoing problem. Last month, Maj. Gen. Harold Greene was killed by an Afghan soldier in an attack that wounded several other NATO and Afghan soldiers.
Just though that was worthy of note. Certainly, we all hope that this episode ends without incident.
dave-from-hvad says
n/t
kirth says
The three have been found trying to go across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada. Click on that link; you’ll love the picture the BBC decided to put at the top of the story.
Andrei Radulescu-Banu says
Are the US and Canada into habit of taking people into custody at the whim of the press? What are the charges against these three Afghan men?