A Nobel Peace Prize Drenched in Blood

Dear Mr. President,
You shed a tear for the first graders gunned down in Newtown. In Boston you sympathized with the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. But what about the 17 civilians—12 of them children—killed on April 7 in an American air strike in Kunar Province? No tears shed for them, no outpouring of sympathy, no offer of aid or justice. Are Afghan children of less value than American children? You’ve never expressed sorrow, sympathy or remorse for any of the innocents killed by our wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Yemen. The military and the CIA regularly deny responsibility or claim everyone killed was a combatant. Denial of responsibility was the tactic used for the April 7 incident, even suggesting the Taliban was responsible. But today’s NYT (“After Airstrike, Afghan Points To C.I.A. and Secret Militias” p. A4) reports that an Afghan investigation found it was a CIA-led operation gone bad. 75 members of an Afghan militia known as the 0-4 Unit, trained and equipped by American Special Forces and under the command of the CIA, marched into the mountains to capture local Taliban commanders suspected of ties to Al Qaeda. But when they arrived at the home of one of them, they found only a mentally ill man and two dozen women and children all of whom they herded into one room of the house. Shortly after arriving, they came under heavy fire from all sides and had to be rescued by a second force from the 0-4 Unit. While escaping, the CIA leader was killed and his 3 CIA cohorts were wounded. An air strike was called in and drones, jets and helicopter gunships fired missiles and rockets at the insurgents to cover the escape and evacuate the wounded. The house was not hit but the concussions from the explosions caused the 2^nd floor to collapse killing all but a few of the women. Collateral damage. No tears, no sympathy, no aid. The CIA and the Pentagon have no comment but the 0-4 Unit has been terrorizing the countryside for more than a year. A member of Parliament from Kunar Province said his home had been raided by the 0-4 Unit twice. “They shot out the TV and the water cooler. America will leave behind their types of forces in 2014 and it will further destabilize Afghanistan.” The war in Afghanistan will not end when we leave. There will be no victory and nothing to celebrate. The deaths of those 12 children in Kunar and all the others killed by you wars, are your legacy, Mr. President. Your Nobel Peace prize is drenched in the blood of the innocent.