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WORD COUNT
694
FEBRUARY 8, 2006
LOSING HEARTS AND
MINDS IN AFGHANISTAN – by Curt Goering
During the recent
meeting of the Afghani legislature, Vice President Dick Cheney and
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld toured the country making upbeat
assessments about Afghanistan's transformation into a peaceful and
stable democracy.
But during a recent
Amnesty International mission in which I interviewed scores of
Afghans—including prisoners released from U.S. detention centers —I
discovered the reality is considerably more complicated and claims of
success are greatly exaggerated. .
While many people
voiced appreciation for coalition efforts to rid Afghanistan of the
Taliban, they stressed the need for continued U.S. assistance. The most
elementary forms of security remain elusive for ordinary Afghans.
Attacks and threats by Taliban or Al-Qaida sympathizers are a daily
occurrence. And many believe that tactics developed by the Iraqi
insurgency are finding their way into Afghanistan. In fact, 2005 was the
most lethal year since the Taliban was overthrown in 2001. More than
1,500 people killed in fighting between anti-government forces and the
U.S.-led Coalition and Afghanistan National Army. Government authority
hardly extends beyond Kabul, and what little had been established is
quickly eroding. Many believe the Taliban are clearly on the ascendancy
and that some territories are again reverting to its control.
Yet the patience of
many Afghans with the U.S. presence is wearing thin. We heard repeated
accounts of aggressive tactics during raids on homes or shops,
particularly by U.S. troops in the southern and eastern provinces, and
of torture and ill-treatment in U.S. custody. The complaints included
beatings, sleep deprivation, hooding, and being stripped naked. Some of
the most serious allegations concerned treatment in detention cells at
U.S. Forward Operating Bases, where detainees are initially held after
arrest before transfer to Bagram, the U.S. airbase where at least eight
Afghans have died in U.S. custody.
We took scores of
testimonies from individuals who alleged wanton destruction or theft
during raids. We also heard tales of males being humiliated by, among
other things, being forced to kneel on the ground with heads bowed while
being blindfolded and handcuffed, sometimes hooded, in the presence of
their families before being taken away for interrogation. We heard
numerous accounts of deeply offensive behavior toward women by U.S.
forces, such as ransacking women’s’ belongings and verbal abuse during
weapons searches. “We will kill to protect the honor of our women and
children,” said one released detainee whose family had allegedly endured
such treatment. While clearly such measures cannot be condoned, the
sentiment to strike back is part of the dialectic.
At the same time,
many of the Taliban's abusive hallmarks may be returning. Many
cooperating with the reconciliation process have been threatened. Rigid
interpretations of Sharia continue to be imposed by Taliban
sympathizers. And while the Karzai government claims that millions of
students, including girls, have returned to school, we were told that
hundreds of schools this year alone had been burned or forced to close
because of threats.
We were told by U.S.
Headquarters in Kabul that military campaign targets are carefully
reviewed by lawyers to ensure they are legitimate and proportionate
under international humanitarian law. We were also assured that the
United States is committed to investigating allegations of abuse and to
holding those responsible accountable. Yet we heard dozens of complaints
about poor investigations into abusive treatment or property
destruction, in which those responsible for abuse were merely slapped on
the wrist.
It may not be too
late to reverse the tide. But urgent steps are imperative. The use of
abusive techniques during raids must finally stop. Now that the McCain
amendment has passed the Senate, Congress should pass new directives
that clearly set out limits in detainee treatment. The president should
make an unequivocal proclamation that torture and cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment will not be tolerated, that each credible allegation
will be promptly and thoroughly investigated, and that anyone found
responsible will be punished. Finally, Congress should create an
independent commission to comprehensively investigate reported
violations and hold anyone responsible accountable—up as well as down
the chain of command.
Unless these issues
are effectively addressed, it may only be a matter of time before
Afghanistan’s fledgling democracy gives way to another failed state—with
consequences we know too well.
--
Curt Goering, senior
deputy executive director for policy and programs at Amnesty
International USA in New York, was in Afghanistan in late November
through mid-December. Founded in 1961, Amnesty International is a Nobel
Prize winning grassroots activist organization with over 1 million
members worldwide.
www.amnesty-usa.org A photo of Curt Goering is available
CLICK HERE
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