US agrees deal over Afghanistan night raids
Source: Agencies |
April 9, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Afghan government and the United States yesterday signed a deal governing night raids by American troops, resolving an issue that had threatened to derail a larger pact governing a US presence in the country for decades to come.
Night raids involve US and Afghan troops descending without warning on homes or residential compounds searching for insurgents. They are widely resented in Afghanistan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly called for the raids to stop, saying they make civilian casualties more likely and that international troops are disrespectful in the way they conduct the operations.
The resolution of the dispute is a key step toward finalizing a long-term "strategic partnership" to govern US forces in Afghanistan after the majority of combat forces leave in 2014.
The memorandum was signed by Kabul's Defense Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak and the commander of US forces General John Allen.
The document gives the Afghans authority over the raids and gives the Americans an Afghan partner that will now be held equally to account if there are civilian casualties or allegations of mistreatment.
Washington says the foreigner-dominated raids Karzai condemns are already a rarity. More than 97 percent of night operations are combined operations involving Afghan forces and almost 40 percent are Afghan-led.
However, it's unclear whether Afghan forces have had much authority even in operations that are nominally "Afghan-led." Sometimes this designation means only that an Afghan soldier is the first one through the door, or that officials have given a rubber-stamp to the mission just as it starts.
The agreement says Afghan forces will conduct home searches and that US forces will be allowed to enter private compounds "only as required or requested."
It's unclear if a higher level of Afghan authority will actually mean that the targets of raids will be treated more humanely. There have been instances of villagers complaining that when Afghan forces conduct raids they also loot houses. Also, the US military stopped transferring detainees to a number of Afghan prisons after evidence of torture at the facilities.
Night raids involve US and Afghan troops descending without warning on homes or residential compounds searching for insurgents. They are widely resented in Afghanistan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly called for the raids to stop, saying they make civilian casualties more likely and that international troops are disrespectful in the way they conduct the operations.
The resolution of the dispute is a key step toward finalizing a long-term "strategic partnership" to govern US forces in Afghanistan after the majority of combat forces leave in 2014.
The memorandum was signed by Kabul's Defense Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak and the commander of US forces General John Allen.
The document gives the Afghans authority over the raids and gives the Americans an Afghan partner that will now be held equally to account if there are civilian casualties or allegations of mistreatment.
Washington says the foreigner-dominated raids Karzai condemns are already a rarity. More than 97 percent of night operations are combined operations involving Afghan forces and almost 40 percent are Afghan-led.
However, it's unclear whether Afghan forces have had much authority even in operations that are nominally "Afghan-led." Sometimes this designation means only that an Afghan soldier is the first one through the door, or that officials have given a rubber-stamp to the mission just as it starts.
The agreement says Afghan forces will conduct home searches and that US forces will be allowed to enter private compounds "only as required or requested."
It's unclear if a higher level of Afghan authority will actually mean that the targets of raids will be treated more humanely. There have been instances of villagers complaining that when Afghan forces conduct raids they also loot houses. Also, the US military stopped transferring detainees to a number of Afghan prisons after evidence of torture at the facilities.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
