No tears in west for 60 Afghan children
The August 22 massacre of civilians is the worst single incident in the past seven years. At the rate civilians are killed in Afghanistan, with little or no condemnations from Nato countries which form the core of the ISAF,
one wonders whether the Afghans are lesser mortals.
Imagine what would happen if a terrorist kills 95 US citizens or citizens of any of the Nato countries.
Such a massacre would have dominated the headlines for weeks, if not months. Giving a melodramatic touch, the western media would also carry photographs of the dead children, interviews with their neighbours, friends and teachers and statements of grieving parents and political leaders. But 60 Afghan children who died in the US attack had none of it. No speaker addressing the ongoing Democratic Party convention, where anti-Iraq-war-and-pro-Afghan-war Barack Obama is being officially anointed as the candidate of the party, dared to mention the Afghan civilian massacre, though they talked about US troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It is not only the US troops who kill civilians in Afghanistan. The British,
the Canadians and others in the ISAF
also kill civilians with impunity and later say "sorry" and promise compensation after investigations.
Very little happens after these empty words.
Besides the August 22 incident, the Americans are responsible for a series of other incidents in which civilians were killed. The major incidents involving US troops this year are:
June 10: At least 30 were killed in the village of Ebrahim Kariz, Mata Khan district of Paktika Province when US forces launched an air and ground attack on the village allegedly targeting a "militant hideout." Residents said that among the dead were dozens of civilians.
July 4: Twenty-three civilians were killed in US air strikes in the district of Waygal in the province of Nouristan.
July 6: Forty-seven civilians attending a wedding (including the bride) were killed in US air strikes in Nangarhar province.
July 14: Officials in Nuristan province said almost 30 defenseless civilians were killed during an ISAF air strike in Want-Waigal district.
July 15: US Forces admit to killing eight civilians in the Bakwa district of Farah province.
July 20: Nine civilians were killed in a US air strike in the Ana Darreh district of Farah province.
August 7: US troops say they "inadvertently" killed four women and a child in an exchange of fire in an area of central Ghazni province. (Source Wikipedia)
Coming back to the August 22 incident, it is still a mystery how the civilians came to be targeted. The people had gathered in the village of Azizabad in Herat province to attend the traditional 40th day almsgiving after the death of a village leader. The villagers say there was no Taleban activity in the area.
But the
US military had a different version, which contained several contradictions. Firstly, the US admission of 30 killed goes against the UN figure of more than 90 and the initial figure of 76 released by the Afghan government. Secondly,
government officials in Herat say there was no Afghan troop involvement in the killing. But the Americans say the US air support was called in by Afghan troops who were ambushed by a group of Taleban militants led by a man named Mullah Siddiq.
Afghansitan's Islamic Affairs Minister Nematullah Shahrani told AFP that the US military had claimed the Taleban were there.
"They must prove it. So far, it is not clear for us why the coalition conducted the air strikes," he said.
Naturally, the people were angry. They held
days of protests shouting slogans against the United States and their puppet president Hamid Karzai, whose writ does not extend beyond Kabul.
Even those writs he issues require the US rubber stamp.
Karzai issued what has now become a customary condemnation. He blamed the ISAF and said those killed had been "martyred".
The word "martyring" has a powerful meaning in Islam. A shaheed or martyred person never dies and his soul departs in a state of purity. Karzai used the word shaheed to mitigate the people's anger and bring the situation under control.
He also sacked two Afghan generals. T
hey had played no part in the massacre. But someone's head had to roll. So Karzai picked on two Afghan generals, because he could not act against the haughty and mighty American troops.
But little does Karzai realize that he is also responsible for the wanton killing of innocent civilians, for he and the Americans are one and the same.
The massacre also points to
desperation on the part of the ISAF, which has faced serious setbacks in recent months.
In their desperation, the foreign troops apparently do not mind killing even 100 civilians if it yields one Taleban militant.
But such a policy only drives the people towards the Taleban, who still enjoy the support of the Afghan people, especially among the Pashtoons who make up nearly 50 percent of the Afghan population and who are poorly represented in the government of Karzai, who is himself a Pashtoon.
It seems the Afghan war is far from being won. The Taleban's power is expanding, not only in Afghanistan, but also in neighbouring Pakistan.
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Do we still know why we are there?
