The Hills around COP Keating

Another short video courtesy of Nick Paton Walsh at Snowblog showing the imposing hills pretty much right on top of COP Keating...and the (somewhat questionable, if you ask me) base security procedures demonstrated by Afghan forces in an adjacent base.



Also, does the following quote from the Washington Post article suggest that American commanders do not have complete and total control over the basing and deployment of their troops? 

Meanwhile, the Americans were having trouble getting out. In the weeks leading up to the Aug. 20 presidential election, the Afghan government was reluctant to let Americans leave the Nurestan outposts and appear weaker by ceding territory to the Taliban. 

 Is it just sloppy reporting on the part of the Post or does internal Afghan politics have an undue influence on the tactical decisions of our field commanders?  Did Kabul really need American soldiers to operate out of a death-trap of a combat outpost in order to appear stronger in a distant province (Nuristan)?  If so, it's well past time to reassess the whole mission.
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