You know, I think NATO exhibits the signs of a delusional disorder. I don't have the expertise to take it farther than that. But in my business, dermatology, we see people who have delusions that they're infested with parasites.
Naturally, doctors are on guard in case patients actually do have parasites, but there are a limited number of skin parasites, and the symptoms are usually clear cut. In fact, the delusional patients also present a clear picture.
Be that as it may, from the perspective of a medical practitioner who is not a psychiatrist, NATO's approach to Afghanistan has the hallmarks of a delusional disorder.
Interested readers are referred to the following reference:
Delusional disorder is an illness characterized by the presence of nonbizarre delusions in the absence of other mood or psychotic symptoms, according to the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR).1 It defines delusions as false beliefs based on incorrect inference about external reality that persist despite the evidence to the contrary and these beliefs are not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture.
Nonbizarre refers to the fact that this type of delusion is about situations that could occur in real life, such as being followed, being loved, having an infection, and being deceived by one's spouse.
Delusional disorder is on a spectrum between more severe psychosis and overvalued ideas. Bizarre delusions represent the manifestations of more severe types of psychotic illnesses (eg, schizophrenia) and "are clearly implausible, not understandable, and not derived from ordinary life experiences".
Speaking for myself, I'd say that further "training" of "security forces" in Afghanistan borders on the implausible, not understandable, and not derived from ordinary life experiences.
