Two months ago the U.S. military “strongly rejected reports cited by a United Nations committee indicating that American forces had killed hundreds of children in Afghanistan over the last four years. The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said it was alarmed by reports that hundreds of children had died in U.S. attacks and airstrikes due to a ‘reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force.’ The U.S. military called the reports ‘categorically unfounded.'” (LA Times, February 8) And yet, over the past 8 days alone, there have been 3 air strikes in Afghanistan that killed at least 20 civilians—13 of them children—and wounded dozens more. In the latest atrocity on Saturday, 11 children, ages 1 to 8 were killed when an airstrike fired a missile into a Taliban commander’s home in the village of Damdara near the Pakistan border after a long drawn-out gun battle between Taliban “insurgents” and Afghan forces. After an all-day gun battle and no casualties, American Special Forces (who may or may not have been involved) ended the battle by calling in an airstrike that killed the Taliban commander and also all those children. According to today’s NYT, the villagers in the past have resisted the government’s attempts to turn them against the Taliban. After Saturday’s slaughter of their children how many more will join the ranks of the Taliban fighters, Mr. President? Who do you think they’ll support in the future? How would you feel if a foreign invader killed 11 of your children? This was clearly an “indiscriminate use of force.” This was also a war crime. What purpose does your zombie war in Afghanistan serve? The enemies of America are not in the mountains of Afghanistan and Waziristan or the tribal areas of Yemen and Somalia, the enemies of America are right here in Washington D.C. and the executive suites and boardrooms of the arms merchants and lobbyists, those who spread fear and misinformation for their own gain, those who support tyranny at home and abroad, who support those who oppress people yearning for no more than dignity and justice and a chance to live their lives in peace. I have always thought that Guantanamo was a symbol of injustice and should be closed but I’ve changed my mind. Allocate the $200 million requested by the military to refurbish it, keep it open and ready for the indefinite detention of America’s war criminals—you, Brennan, Bush, Cheney, Rummsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz…it’s a long list.
 |
| April 7, 2012: A NATO airstrike killed 10 children and 8 other people in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan. (Photo: Reuters) |
No comments:
Post a Comment