Afghani Government Displeased With NATO Actions

[Aaron]

Two articles that seem close enough to combine into one thread:

CBC.ca

As foreign troops faced new criticism for civilian deaths in Afghanistan on Tuesday, Defence Minister Peter MacKay wrapped up a surprise visit to Kandahar, where he said the summer battle season has been difficult for NATO and U.S.-led coalition forces.

MacKay announced $16 million in Canadian funding to establish a staff and language training centre for junior officers of the Afghan National Army in Kabul. He also said the mission remains important to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming "an incubator and exporter of terror."

"There's no question this has been a tough season, very difficult sledding for our forces, as well as our allies," said MacKay, who arrived in Afghanistan on Monday with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to visit with troops and meet Kandahar's new governor.

When asked whether the Afghan government's plan to review the presence of foreign troops would hinder Canada's forces in the country, MacKay said Canadian troops are taking "all precautions" and following all rules of engagement while working with the Afghan government and NATO.

"We make all efforts to see that the level of co-operation protects civilians," he said.

MacKay's visit came as President Hamid Karzai called on coalition troops to alter the rules of engagement in the wake of a U.S. air strike that left 90 civilians dead in Herat province in western Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released a report saying its team visited the area that was bombed and spoke to locals who provided "convincing evidence" that 90 civilians were killed and 15 others wounded last Friday.

The Afghan government released a statement on Monday, saying its foreign affairs and defence ministries have been asked to review the presence of foreign troops and regulate their presence in an effort to end air strikes that kill civilians.

CBC.ca

Afghanistan's government has ordered a review of U.S. and NATO troops in the country amid a United Nations report supporting allegations that a recent air strike in western Afghanistan killed 90 civilians.

President Hamid Karzai's government has told its foreign affairs and defence ministries to review the presence of foreign troops and regulate their presence with a status of forces agreement.

The two ministries were also to negotiate a possible end to "air strikes on civilian targets, unco-ordinated house searches and illegal detention of Afghan civilians," the government said in a statement Monday.

The review was ordered on Monday, a day before a damning United Nations report on civilian causalities following an air strike last Friday on the village of Azizabad in the Shindand district of Herat province.

"Investigations by UNAMA [United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] found convincing evidence, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses and others, that some 90 civilians were killed, including 60 children, 15 women and 15 men," UN special envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide said in a statement issued Tuesday.

'This is matter of grave concern to the United Nations'— UN envoy Kai Eide

Fifteen villagers were wounded and seven or eight houses in the village were destroyed during the bombardment, Eide said.

"This is matter of grave concern to the United Nations," he said. "I have repeatedly made clear that the safety and welfare of civilians must be considered above all else during the planning and conduct of all military operations."

The plan to review the presence of foreign troops appears to be aimed at both international forces operating in Afghanistan: the U.S.-led coalition, which trains the fledgling Afghan army and police, and the UN-mandated NATO-led force.

Capt. Mike Windsor, a spokesman for the NATO-led force, said his officials have seen media reports of the statement from the Karzai government, but have not received "any official notification so far."

U.S.-led coalition troops, which were supporting Afghan commandos in the raid, said they believe 25 militants, including a Taliban commander, and five civilians were killed in Azizabad. The U.S. coalition originally said the battle left 30 militants dead.

Karzai has on several occasions condemned the loss of cilivian lives during military operations, but has often tempered his outrage with words of support for efforts to oust Taliban militants.

NATO and the U.S.-led coalition have said insurgents take cover among civilians in villages after launching attacks on foreign and Afghan troops.

The two forces insist they take great care in their targeting and accuse the militants of putting innocent people at risk.

During last summer's fighting against the Taliban, Karzai urged NATO's International Security Assistance Force to take greater care before engaging insurgents.

"We are thankful for their help to Afghanistan, but that does not mean that Afghan lives have no value," he said. "Afghan life is not cheap and it should not be treated as such," he said in June 2007 after 25 civilians were killed in an air strike near the town of Gereskh in Helmond province.

In January 2007, Karzai urged Afghan and international forces to practise "maximum caution" during their "anti-terrorist operations" after two civilians were killed in Nangarhar province.
With files from the Associated Press

So...there's no status of forces agreement in place between NATO and the Afghani's? Or is there no agreement bewteen the Afghani's and the Americans? Because I know Canada has one, one which was screwed up and caused a lot of media outcry at home.

I'd like to know what their on about in regards to illegal detention of civilians. As far as I know, detained Afghani's (Taliban or civvie) get handed over to their government and get to enjoy their hospitality.

[Azazal]

For the 2nd article, NPR was coving the attack yesterday and brought up what may be a new tactic for the Taliban, get NATO to attack civilians through mis-direction, then use the mistrust and anger to gather new recruits.

Civilian Casualties Stir Angst In Afghanistan

From about 1/2 way down

A senior Afghan official, who also has investigated the attack, provided more details. He asked not to be identified or taped for fear of losing his job.

He says U.S. troops and Afghan commandos from the nearby Shindand military base conducted the pre-dawn operation. They did not inform local authorities of their plans. The troops were acting on a tip that a Taliban commander was in the village and had gathered a group of fighters in his home.

The official says the same tipster then alerted the Taliban to the planned operation, so when the soldiers arrived, they came under fire from as many as 15 gunmen. The troops fired back and called for an airstrike. The official says most of the gunmen managed to flee.

So, it appears, did the Taliban commander, despite American and Afghan military claims that he was killed.

Then at the end of the article

Creating New Enemies?

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahed says many are already reacting by joining the insurgency.

"The more the Americans oppress the people, the greater the Afghan desire for revenge," Mujahed says. "The Americans may have created more than 1,000 new enemies in Herat province."

Such figures are impossible to verify, but the unnamed Afghan official says it is clear there are more insurgents in this area now than there were a year ago.

In Azizabad, where grief hangs like a thick curtain, many survivors say they no longer support their government or the Americans, but tribal elder Rashid says the only retribution they seek is against the tipster.

Still, he acknowledges it is hard to persuade people not to take out their frustration on the government — like when residents recently threw stones at Afghan police trucks bringing in food and supplies.

[cosmicalstorm]

Isnt it a common tactict o strip dead fighters of all their weapons and then parade them as civilians when the media arrives?
Im not saying that the coalition is innocent, but guerilla wars are usually full of this kind of bullshit.

[Aaron]

Isnt it a common tactict o strip dead fighters of all their weapons and then parade them as civilians when the media arrives?
Im not saying that the coalition is innocent, but guerilla wars are usually full of this kind of bullshit.

I don't doubt that's happened, along with the other usual assorted crap. Mortring/rocketing your own people etc.

[Vympel]

Pet peeve- no such thing as "Afghani". That's their currency, IIRC. It's "Afghan".

[Duckie]

Pet peeve- no such thing as "Afghani". That's their currency, IIRC. It's "Afghan".

Not so

-i is a standard Persian "inhabitant" thing, so Afghan(istan)-i is a perfectly valid construction. Afghanistani has been used by Afghan expatriates out of analogy with Pakistani, for instance.

[Pelranius]

Assuming that the charges are true, what can the Afghan government do? It's not as if they have a lot of leverage if they decide to kick NATO out. I don't think they're going to turn to the Russians or Chinese.