I'm really baffled by this.

Al Qaida/Taliban/whichever gaggle of insurgents we're fighting today commits an 'atrocity' (that is utterly within conduct condoned by their culture), we're outraged, and they don't change. They keep doing things that outrage us.

An ally of ours commits an 'atrocity' (that is utterly within conduct condoned by both the perp's and the target's culture, by their actions if not statements), we're outraged, and we change. We stop doing things that create the gestures of outrage even if it common practice for the enemy to do to their own.

When we stress the importance of being an agile and adaptable force, but somehow I think we're missing the point.

If an action sets off Al Qaida/Taliban to this degree, perhaps we should arrange a way to allow the Gurkhas to avenge the insult visited upon them by the attorneys of the bad guys who have compromised our legal framework to their own ends. And avenging insults is perfectly acceptable with the Pashtunwali, thus demonstrating our respect for local culture in Afghanistan.