US/NATO death squads killing indiscriminately in Afghanistan

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US/NATO death squads killing indiscriminately in Afghanistan
By James Cogan
18 March 2010

The New York Times reported this week that the overall commander of US
and NATO troops in Afghanistan is seeking to impose tighter control
over the activities of special forces units, after recent operations
led to more civilian deaths. General Stanley McChrystal’s concern is
not the deaths, however, but the manner in which they are fuelling
Afghan hatred for the US-led occupation and their occasional exposure
in the international media.

On March 5, McChrystal publicly released a portion of a directive he
had issued—reportedly in late January or early February—which had
placed conditions on the night raids that occupation troops regularly
conduct on Afghan civilian homes.

McChrystal noted in his release: “Despite their effectiveness and
operational value, night raids come at a steep cost in terms of the
perceptions of the Afghan people. The myths, distortions and
propaganda arising out of night raids often have little to do with the
reality—few Afghans have been directly affected by night raids, but
nearly every Afghan I talk to mentions them as the single greatest
irritant. Night raids must be conducted with even greater care,
additional constraints, and standardisation throughout Afghanistan.”

McChrystal’s directive stipulated new conditions, including the
involvement of Afghan government forces in the raids; treating people
with dignity; and informing victims as to how to get compensation for
seized or damaged property. The cosmetic character of the order, along
with that of an earlier directive calling for caution before launching
air strikes, can be judged by the following incidents since early
February:

* The London Times reported on March 13 that American special forces,
accompanied by Afghan police, entered a housing compound near Gardez,
in Paktia province on February 12. They killed a local police
commander named Daoud, his brother and three women, two of whom were
pregnant. His 15-year-old son was also shot.

According to an unpublished UN report obtained by the Times, the
occupation forces broke in at 3.30 a.m. while Daoud’s extended family
was celebrating the naming of a baby. The man who noticed them cried
“Taliban”. Daoud and his son were gunned down as they ran into the
courtyard to investigate. His brother, who recognised the assailants
as Americans, was shot dead as he yelled in English “don’t fire, we
work for the government”. The three women were killed by either a
blast of gunfire that entered the house or, according to witnesses
cited in a New York Times article, were gunned down as they attempted
to help the men.

The UN report stated that the remaining people in the compound were
“assaulted by the US and Afghan forces, restrained and forced to stand
barefoot for several hours outside in the cold”. Daoud and his
18-year-old niece allegedly died of their wounds due to lack of
medical treatment. Eight men were taken away and interrogated for four
days before being released.

An initial press release by the US/NATO International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) claimed that the three women had been “tied
up, gagged and killed” before the special forces’ attack. ISAF later
admitted the allegation was false and also that Daoud was not Taliban.

* On February 21, special forces in Uruzgan province called in a
helicopter gunship strike on three trucks they were monitoring,
killing 27 people. The occupants were all unarmed and all civilians.
An anonymous NATO official told the New York Times: “What I saw on
that video would not have led me to pull the trigger. It was one of
the worst things I’ve seen in a while.” The nationality of the troops
has not identified but the Australian Special Air Service (SAS) is the
most active special forces unit in Uruzgan province. It has been
blamed for a number of atrocities against civilians.

* According to the London Times, American and Afghan troops in
February raided the home of Rahmatullah Sediqi, a 61-year-old
shopkeeper in Ghazni province who had provided shelter to Taliban
fighters the night before, reportedly under threat. The Taliban were
gone. The occupation forces shot dead his wife and son.

* This month, a helicopter gunship fired a missile into the guest room
of a housing compound in Karakhil village in Wardak province, killing
three alleged Taliban insurgents. Locals claim that a landing party of
occupation troops then entered the home and shot dead its owner,
32-year-old engineer Hamidullah, his wife and his son. Another child
was seriously wounded.

The publicity given to McChrystal’s directive by the New York Times
has all the hallmarks of a public relations exercise, intended to give
the appearance that he is “reining in” special forces’ operations to
protect civilian lives.

In reality, the entire military strategy of the US occupation force in
Afghanistan, drawn up by commanders McChrystal and General David
Petraeus, is predicated on the use of what can only be described as
death squads to terrorise the Afghan people into submission. Civilians
who die in the process are regarded by the Obama White House and the
Pentagon as “collateral damage”.

In Iraq, McChrystal served under Petraeus as the head of the Joint
Special Operations Command (JSOC) during the so-called “surge” from
2007 to 2008. The surge had two key aspects. Firstly, a concerted
effort to bribe a substantial section of the anti-occupation
resistance to cease fighting, and secondly, the wholesale use of
JSOC-directed units to assassinate or capture insurgents who would not
lay down their arms. The Iraqi government estimated that in the first
months of 2008 alone, over 3,000 members of the anti-occupation Shiite
Mahdi Army militia were killed, mainly by covert operations.

McChrystal was selected by Petraeus—and endorsed by Obama—to head
US/NATO forces in Afghanistan because of the so-called success of the
operations in Iraq. Under his command, Afghanistan and northwest
Pakistan have become free fire kill zones. Jet fighters, gunships and
unmanned Predator drones stalk the sky while gangs of heavily-armed
and highly-trained special forces scour the ground, seeking to kill or
detain anyone perceived to be organising armed resistance. In case
after case, the people they slaughter are defenceless men, women and
children.

As was revealed this week, a sinister, off-the-books private mercenary
operation to help identify increasing numbers of targets for
assassination also existed until it was shut down following CIA
complaints (see: “US military created private spy and murder squad in
Afghanistan”).

Last year, 586 civilian deaths in Afghanistan were officially blamed
on the actions of the occupation forces. According to the New York
Times, Afghan and UN officials believe special forces units were
responsible for the majority. The newspaper noted that the UN human
rights office report stated last year: “These forces often operate
with little or no accountability and exacerbate the anger and
resentment felt by communities.”

There is no official body count of how many alleged “Taliban” or
insurgents were killed. Their deaths also intensify local hostility
toward a murderous foreign occupation force.

http://wsws.org/articles/2010/mar2010/afgh-m18.shtml

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