I can't help but be disturbed by the comments of President Karzai when speaking to parliment the other day. In the article "Karzai Hits Allies for Civilian Deaths" by the AP, Karzai says...
"We will not accept civilian casualties on our soil during the fight against terrorism and we cannot tolerate it," Karzai said.
The Afghan president said his government sent a letter to the NATO-led command in Kabul two weeks ago complaining about civilian casualties, arrests and house-searches. It was the fourth such letter sent to Western military leaders in Afghanistan.
Karzai's continued return to the theme suggests efforts by NATO and the U.S. to stem such killings have not satisfied the Afghan government.
What disturbs me so much about his comments is the lack of mention of how many innocents are killed and injured by the insurgents operating in and around Afghanistan. Why does Karzai not speak about the insurgents? What about these headlines?
French soldiers give blood for victim of bomb attack
ISAF treats Afghans wounded in Khowst VBIED blast
Explosion Near Camp Eggers from SVBIED (Video)
ISAF hospital aids children injured by insurgent attacks
Afghan contractor kidnapped, murdered in Kapisa
I went back through our listing of stories from the Afghanistan Daily Combat News, and pulled those headlines out from the past several weeks. There are more, there are even headlines talking about where the ISAF forces have accidently injured civilians. I am not saying that coalition forces have not killed or injured civilians.
To my way of thinking, it is a miracle more civilians haven't been killed when the insurgents deliberately hide amongst the women and children. They dress the same as the locals so they can blend in with the people around them, and have been caught multiple times on camera using the locals as shields to protect themselves from being killed. You do remember the video clip of the insurgents planting IED's on the roadside, and when they felt the need to be shielded, they pulled children in front of them don't you? The Marines were patient and......, well here is the link.
We have all seen the headlines where the Afghanistan government has declared a larger number of civilians killed during a fight with the insurgents then the military has. Now, if a person is not wearing a uniform, or other distinguishing clothing, then yes, they will look like a civilian. So I suppose a person could look down at the dead bodies and say to themselves, "Well they are dressed as civilians, I don't see a weapon in their hand, so they must be innocents who were killed." One important point needs to be brought up here. If one is firing a weapon, if one is acting as a lookout/spotter, if one is aiding and abetting the insurgents, if one is driving a VBIED, then that person is not an "innocent civilian!"
Our troops, the Afghan military, NATO forces, ALL take very seriously the goal of preserving civilian lives, or for that matter, anyone's life, their own included!
On January 14, 2009 we published the article "ISAF takes additional measures to avoid civilian casualties" where you will find
"In his first press briefing with journalists in 2009, NATO Spokesman James Appathurai presented the recently issued Tactical Directive as a key step in ISAF’s efforts to avoid civilian casualties.
He declared that, “NATO takes the issue of civilian casualties in Afghanistan very seriously.” Even one casualty is too many and “it is a human imperative to respect the life of each Afghan - man, woman, and child,” he said."
Quoting directly from the Tactical Directive.......
5. We are engaged in a counterinsurgency in an extremely demanding environment. We are fighting an enemy that often cannot be indentified before he has struck and then once he has, he hides among the civilian population. The battle is often waged among civilians and their property. We must clearly apply and demonstrate proportionality, requisite restraint, and the utmost discrimination in our application of firepower. No one seeks or intends to constrain the inherent right of self defense of every member of the ISAF force. However, Commanders must focus upon the principles which attach to every use of force - be that self defense or offensive fires. Good tactical judgment, neccesity, and proportionality are to drive every action and engagement; minimizing civilian casualties is of paramount importance.
Yes, we do have that support, even when I get frustrated with the remarks by President Karzai. I have to remember it is an election year over in Afghanistan. As such, people are looking for anything to destroy their opponents' chances of winning an election. Politicians will say pretty much anything to get themselves elected. I am sure there are many cases where what is best from a military standpoint is not what is viewed as best from a civilian standpoint, and thus the balancing act between President Karzai and the ISAF must be more difficult than is easily seen. I mean no disrespect to President Karzai, however, I felt a need to put out an opposing viewpoint to the article mentioned in the first paragraph.
MsMarti. Copyright 2008-2009 All rights reserved.
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