Afghan Translators Dying in Numbers

From The Times:

Coalition troops are reviewing security procedures after the deaths of at least 10 Afghans working as translators for the American-led coalition in the last month, a military spokesman said.

Some of the translators have been accompanying foreign troops and have been killed during combat operations, but others seem to have been directly targeted by Taliban insurgents for working for the coalition led by the United States, colleagues said. Most of the translators are young Afghans who have studied in the many private English-language courses available in Afghanistan.

Taliban-led violence has increased dramatically in the last six months, with insurgents making a determined show of force as NATO prepares to take over military command of southern Afghanistan.

Many civilians have been caught in the violence, including more than 100 employees of the United States Agency for International Development, in the last three years, according to the departing chief of mission in Afghanistan, Alonzo Fulgham. The majority of those killed were Afghans, he said, but some expatriate workers had also been killed.

Gee, I suspect the translators are targeted because they're working for the U.S. government OR for U.S.-based operations. And gosh, I didn't even need a degree from Harvard to figure it out.