Killing civilians

[unhappycamper]

Killing civilians
Patrick Kennelly
Saturday, March 26, 2011

Afghans expect Americans to see the terrorism they bring to this poor country in the name of fighting terrorism. In Kabul, on the same day that Der Spiegel released photos documenting American soldiers posing with the bodies of civilians they murdered, the Transitional Justice Coordinating Group (TJCG, the umbrella organisation for NGOs in Afghanistan that are pursuing transitional justice), gathered Afghan, Australian, American, and German peacemakers to discuss methods to bring peace and security to Afghanistan. The photos present the grim reality that this conflict is characterised by killing civilians and generalised violence.

In 2001, the American led ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), a coalition of the richest nations in the world, began military operations in Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 killing of civilians in New York and Washington. The purpose of the operations was to fight terrorism and seek reprisal for the Taliban’s harbouring of Al Qaeda. The operation has turned into a near decade-long war on one of the poorest nations in the world.

After nearly 10 years of war Afghanistan is mired in terror, brutality, and a security situation that is worsening. Among Afghans there is growing consensus that the ISAF is pursuing military measures, such as the formation and arming of independent local militias under the banner of the “Afghan Local Police” against the wishes of President Karzai and the Afghan people. This undermines the prospects of peace in the future and further endangers ordinary people. However, it is the killing of civilians by American military personnel and mercenaries that most enflames the conflict and expands the rift between ISAF and the Afghan people.

Most westerners are familiar with the thousands of American civilians killed 9/11, some people know about the atrocities committed by the armed opposition groups in Afghanistan, and even fewer people are familiar with the stories of Afghan civilians killed by ISAF forces.

Some of the recent civilian killings by ISAF, primarily composed of American forces include: two children in Kunar province on March 14, nine children collecting firewood in Kunar province on March 1, five civilians including two children who were searching for food in Kapisa province on February 24; 22 women, 26 boys, and three old men in a raid on insurgents in Kunar province on February 17; two civilians killed and one injured while travelling in a van in Helmand province on February 3.