8 Civilians Killed In Baghlan NATO Raid

Tuesday, 24 August 2010 11:27Written by TOLOnews

At least 8 civilians were killed and 12 were wounded in NATO operations in the northern Baghlan province on Monday, officials say

The incident occurred Monday afternoon in the province's Tala and Barfak districts when foreign forces entered a residential house and shot dead 8 civilians, wounded 12 and arrested 9 others, local officials say.

NATO forces denied having any connection with the incident. In NATO operations conducted without coordination with Afghan forces, civilians are the main victims.

In a similar incident last week, NATO soldiers had shot dead 2 civilians and arrested 3 others in Surkhroad district of the eastern Nangarhar province. The spokesman for the province's Police Chief had said that the operation was conducted without coordination with Afghan forces.

According to a recent report published by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), civilian casualties have increased 31 percent in the first six months of 2010. Civilian casualties have provoked tense arguments between Afghan authorities and NATO military officials.

TONY Writes:

The chief of Baghlan's Tala Wabarfak district, Mohammad Ismail, said the deaths—six men, one woman, and one child—reportedly came in the early hours of Sunday morning in the village of Tergaran. Villagers told him troops flown in aboard five or six helicopters also destroyed several houses during the five-hour operation, Ismail said. Two people were reportedly arrested and taken away he said, adding that Taliban have on occasion been active in the area, a 10-hour walk from the nearest town over which the government exercises little influence.

NATO said U.S. troops fired warning shots on Monday to disperse a protest in eastern Afghanistan over the arrest of a religious leader suspected of a rocket attack. The alliance said no civilian injuries were reported from the demonstration, but Gen. Faqir Ahmad, the deputy police chief of Parwan province, said one civilian was killed by gunfire from an unknown source. NATO said about 300 people surrounded a patrol and attacked vehicles with rocks and iron bars outside the main coalition air base at Bagram in Parwan province.

"After several attempts to stop the attack and disperse the crowd, coalition troops received small-arms fire directed at them," NATO said in a news release. Coalition forces then fired the warning shots.

Gen. Ahmad said the coalition firing enraged the crowd with some then using rocks and sticks to attack police and the head of the district government, Kabir Ahmad, who had tried to calm the situation. The deputy police chief said Ahmad and a police officer had serious but not life-threatening injuries. (Source - various newsfeeds).

Smearing Wikileaks And Julian Assange

I was going to post on the inevitable smears on Assange. Fortunately Chris Floyd at Empire Burlesque has done it quicker and better:

We have the President of the United States -- who has already openly proclaimed his "right" to assassinate anyone on earth, including American citizens, without the slightest due process of law, simply at his arbitrary command -- now feverishly expanding the use of death squads, whose stealthy night raids on sleeping villages have already killed a vast number of innocent civilians in Afghanistan (as the Wikileaks documents show). This same administration is now running "black ops," secret armies, proxy wars and other covert activities in more than 75 countries around the world. That is to say, the Obama Administration is now murdering people in their beds, fomenting bloody ethnic conflict, supporting and/or carrying out acts of terrorism, spreading corruption, assisting dictators, arming warlords, spreading hate and suffering all over the world -- and doing it knowingly, proudly. ("Evil in broad daylight" indeed, as Arthur Silber details here.)

And these are the moral paragons who have now turned their machinery of lies and smears against Wikileaks. For make no mistake; although the rape charges were manufactured in Sweden -- which, incidentally, is where some of Wikileaks' servers are located -- they emanate from the proud deathlords in Washington. Indeed, didn't we hear just a few weeks ago that the Peace Laureate's people had launched a campaign of pressuring foreign governments to put fetters on Assange and his organization? Now Sweden's center-right government -- no, Rush, Sweden is no longer the super-socialist fairyland of your nightmares -- has obviously hearkened to the master's voice.

But although this first foray has been rebuffed, it is certain that what we are seeing is the beginning of a concerted effort to destroy Assange as a public figure and thereby discredit the work of Wikileaks -- and by extension, the truth of its revelations.

And smearing, of course, is just the first step. If that doesn't work ... well, the avowed and openly proclaimed proponents of assassination certainly have other, more "prejudicial" methods at their disposal, nicht war?

Regey Massacre - Investigation Underway

An investigation has begun into another major massacre of civilians by Nato in Helmland Province. Details are still becoming clear since Nato claimed to have investigated and found nothing. Details here.

Afghans 4 Brits 0 - Lessons of History

'Often they would tell us they preferred the Russians [occupying the country] to the Americans. We were all Americans to them. They would say the Russians left them a better infrastructure and even took some of them on visits to Russia.

'It was often the case that, when we were strong, they would be our friends. When we showed a moment of weakness, they would turn against us. That's the Afghan trait.'

There's a lack of trust between the Nato soldiers and their Afghan counterparts, whether they be police or military. I'm incredibly proud of the British soldier, but there's an awful lot going on. I feel awfully sorry for the troops on the ground. I'm not so proud of the people who put them there.

Who are the enemy? Nine times out of 10, it's the village people who can pick up a gun, fire at you and then hide it back under the floorboards. People just want to be left alone.

The British army has been to Afghanistan four times [in history], and we have lost 4-0. I first went there in 2004, and everything I saw in may last trip last year suggested it has changed for the worse.

Everyone calls it an insurgency. It's not. It's a civil war. It's the Northern Alliance against the Pashtun south. We are taking part on one side in a 30-year civil war. Link'

Human Rights Report - Afghan Civilian Casualties

'The arrival of thousands of additional US/NATO forcesforces into the country, and the desire to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat" the insurgents and their al Qaeda associates by military might, bodes ill to civilian Afghans who have suffered the brunt of war casualties. The troop surge and the appointment of Gen. David Petraeus as the commander of all US/NATO forces has widely been interpreted as 'the last push before exit' which not only has emboldened the insurgents but has also encouraged Pakistan, Iran and other regional interventionist states to resurface and back proxies for a post-US/NATO Afghanistan.'

Link to Relief Web article and full report here

NATO Attack Kills More Afghan Soldiers

Josef Blotz, a Nato spokesman, confirmed the attack. He said he regretted the incident and that Isaf would launch an investigation. "The reason for this is perhaps a co-ordination issue," Blotz said. "We were obviously not absolutely clear whether there were Afghan national security forces in the area." He extended the personal condolences of General David Petraeus, the newly arrived commander of Nato and US forces in Afghanistan, to the families of the victims. A Nato air strike killed four Afghan soldiers in Wardak province in January and the German army accidentally killed five Afghan soldiers in April in a "friendly fire" incident in Kunduz province.

Three thoughts:

I think Blotz could have left the word 'perhaps' out of his first sentence.

It makes a change for NATO to be 'not absolutely clear' whether there are Afghan soldiers in the area as opposed to be being 'not absolutely clear' whether there are Afghan civilans in the area.

It didn't take long for Petraeus to have to trot out the condolences in the context of another NATO bloodbath. It won't be long till the next time(see posts passim).

One For All You Droneheads Out There

Recent Pentagon accident reports reveal that the pilotless aircraft suffer from frequent system failures, computer glitches and human error.Design and system problems were never fully addressed in the haste to push the fragile plane into combat over Afghanistan shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks more than eight years ago. Air Force investigators continue to cite pilot mistakes, coordination snafus, software failures, outdated technology and inadequate flight manuals.Thirty-eight Predator and Reaper drones have crashed during combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and nine more during training on bases in the U.S. -- with each crash costing between $3.7 million and $5 million. Altogether, the US Air Force says there have been 79 drone accidents costing at least $1 million each. So much for the state of the art, high tech warfare we are always being spun. Obama, the Peace Laureate, as one poster on here recently reminded us, likes them.

The Last Days of The Americans

Thoughtful and informed analysis by William Dalrymple. Excerpt:

During lunch, as my hosts casually pointed out the various places in the village where the British had been massacred in 1842, I asked them if they saw any parallels between that war and the present situation. "It is exactly the same," said Anwar Khan Jegdalek. "Both times the foreigners have come for their own interests, not for ours. They say, 'We are your friends, we want democracy, we want to help.' But they are lying." ...“Afghanistan is like the crossroads for every nation that comes to power," [said] Jegdalek. "But we do not have the strength to control our own destiny - our fate is always determined by our neighbours. Next, it will be China. This is the last days of the Americans."...

History Repeating As Tragic Farce

In 1842, shortly after his return from Afghanistan, an army chaplain, Reverend G R Gleig, wrote a memoir about the First Anglo-Afghan War, of which he was one of the very few survivors. It was, he wrote, "a war begun for no wise purpose, carried on with a strange mixture of rashness and timidity, brought to a close after suffering and disaster, without much glory attached either to the government which directed, or the great body of troops which waged it. Not one benefit, political or military, has Britain acquired with this war. Our eventual evacuation of the country resembled the retreat of an army defeated."

FF to the present day and Obama has announced that he will begin withdrawing troops in July 2011. The start of the US withdrawal is likely to begin a rush to evacuate the other Nato forces located in pockets around the country: the Dutch have announced that they will be pulling out of Uruzgan this summer, and the Canadian and Danes won't be far behind them. Nor will the Brits, despite assurances from Hague and Fox. A recent poll showed that 72 per cent of Britons want the troops out of Afghanistan immediately, and there is only so long any government can hold out against such strong public opinion. Certainly, it is time to shed the idea that a pro-western puppet regime that excludes the Pashtuns can remain in place in Afghanistan indefinitely. The Karzai government is crumbling before our eyes, and if we delude ourselves that this is not the case, we could yet face a replay of 1842.

Gone, General, Gone

McChrystal and Obama in happier times above. The spin already has it that the strategy remains in place whatever it is. But this is not good for Nato or Isaf. An even bigger shambles prevails now. This month sees the worst casualties they have suffered and it will get worse still. McChrystal will have his own chatshow within a year. On Fox probably. Poetic justice of a kind.

Bomb Disposal Deaths (2 in a year) 'Unacceptable' Says Coroner

Oh yes? Try 2 deaths among Afghan civilians every half an hour on average as a death rate which is unacceptable, Mr. Coroner? Thought about that?

Obama At West Point

Speaking to graduating cadets at West Point last Saturday, President Obama noted the "ultimate sacrifice" of 78 of their predecessors who gave up their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. But he did not mention that just days before, five U.S. soldiers were killed in Kabul, bringing the toll of American dead in Afghanistan to over 1,000. The picture here could be captioned ' Yippee - let's go zap Charlie Towelhead'. How does Obama think this stuff (including the images) plays across the world and in the Middle East?

Latest NATO Killings - Whitewash Unravels

"A lot of times these raids are premised on faulty evidence so someone will give a time to the international forces that "hey, there's an insurgent in this house," a raid will happen, it'll have tragic consequences and then there is just a dead silence."

Criminal Investigation of US Soldiers

At least 10 U.S. Army soldiers from a troubled unit of the 2nd Infantry Division in southern Afghanistan are now the focus of a criminal investigation into allegations they deliberately killed Afghan civilians, used illegal drugs and conducted other illicit activities,according to several sources in Afghanistan. The soldiers are part of the 5th Stryker Brigade of the 2ID, based out of Fort Lewis, Washington. The military issued a brief statement last week saying a criminal probe was under way into the allegations of killing, illegal drug use, assault and conspiracy. One military official familiar with the details of the case told reporters the matter was brought to the attention of commanders by at least one other soldier. The killings of the civilians did not take place in one single incident, the official said. Those under investigation are members of the same company, the official said. All 10 remain in Afghanistan. One soldier is being held in detention known as "pre-trial confinement." The others have been "put in a position where they can do no harm," the official said. He would offer no other details. Charges are expected to be filed in the coming days. The U.S. military is bracing for a further public outcry in Afghanistan when details emerge, several officials said. Gen. Stanley McChrystal has claimed to make the 'protection of Afghan civilians a top priority'. The officials stressed this case appears to be one of deliberate murder, not civilian casualties as a result of combat.

This is What We Are All Up Against

Robert Fisk called the Arms Fairs and promotions 'War Porn'. He was right and here it is in all its obscenity. Complete with price lists.

US Strategy In Afghanistan - Short Film

Secret US Prisons In Afghanistan

They took the barefoot Rahman and a cousin to a helicopter some distance away and transported them to a small American base in a neighboring province for interrogation. After two days, US forces released Rahman's cousin. But Rahman has not been seen or heard from since.

"We've called his phone, but it doesn't answer," said his cousin Qarar, the agriculture minister's spokesman. Using his powerful connections, Qarar enlisted local police, parliamentarians, the governor and even the agriculture minister himself in the search for his cousin, but they turned up nothing. Government officials who independently investigated the scene in the aftermath of the raid and corroborated the claims of the family also pressed for an answer as to why two of Qarar's family members were killed. American forces issued a statement saying that the dead were "enemy militants [who] demonstrated hostile intent." LINK HERE

4 Civilians Killed in Latest Nato Carnage

NATO troops shot at a vehicle, killing four unarmed Afghan civilians in Khost province, reports Reuters. The civilians were killed as they drove in the direction of a NATO convoy and ignored warnings to slow down NATO's official statement said describing the dead as two insurgents and two "associates," a NATO spokesman conceded that the four may have been civilians. This shooting follows another similar incident last week in Kandahar in which NATO forces opened fire on a bus. Four civilians died while 18 were injured as a result. The U.N.'s envoy to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, called the latest incident part of a "disturbing trend."The picture is of the funeral of the victims on 20th April.

NATO Credibility Questioned

'Chairman of the Freedom Association (Özgür-Der) Rıdvan Kaya labels those atrocities as NATO and US terrorism. “If we define terrorism as targeting civilians for political ends, then what has happened there is simply NATO and US terrorism,” he said, further arguing that the regret announced on the part of international forces does not translate into action. “The same thing happens after every civilian casualty. One of them takes the floor and says an investigation was launched into that particular incident. Nothing else happens after that. Innocent people simply keep being murdered in their homes, in public transportation vehicles and even in mosques.” He called on everybody with a conscience to speak up against those atrocities.' Full story here.

Daily NATO Massacre Bulletin

Four Afghan civilians were killed when NATO troops opened fire today on a bus in the southern province of Kandahar, the province where coalition forces are preparing a new offensive.A patrol of ISAF soldiers fired on the vehicle when it 'failed to respond to hand signals' an old chestnut which was used all the time in the aftermath of similar massacres in Iraq. Hamid Karzai “strongly condemned” the shooting in his usual inept and feeble fashion. Eighteen people were wounded in the attack Fazl Ahmad Sherzay, an official with the local police force, said to French news agencies.