US Troops in Afghanistan to Get 'Guardian Angels'

As the number of green-on-blue attacks steadily climbs, US troops in Afghanistan will receive a new protector: "guardian angels." These safekeepers are the flesh-and-blood kind, actual troops who will watch over their sleeping comrades. It's one of a number of new security measures ordered by the US top-dog in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. John Allen. Among the other changes: Troops can now keep their weapons on them in a number of Afghan ministries, and desks are being rearranged so that they face the door, to better observe who is entering.

But many of the 300 advisers who were pulled from Afghan ministries in the wake of the Koran-burning debacle have yet to return, pending further security measures, such as improved vetting procedures and physical security measures, reports the AP. Some 84 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan in 2012—18% of those deaths came at the hands of Afghan colleagues. (More Afghanistan stories.)