Atiqullah, Mehrabuddin, Mohammed Mansor & WO Sean Mullen

Dear Mr. President,

Dr. Shukrullah Stoman found his brother yesterday, missing since December. He was among the last 3 of the 17 missing men from Warkak province. (Today’s NY Times, p. A6.) All 3—Atiqullah, 38, Mehrabuddin, 35, and Mohammed Mansor, 32—were found lying face down in a pit covered with large flat stones about 800 yards from the Special Forces camp where they had been taken. Like the other bodies recovered around the camp, they were badly decomposed, identified by family members from clothing, boots and shawls. The military continues to deny responsibility for the deaths of any of the 17 detained by the U.S. Special Forces A Team in spite of eyewitness reports that the Americans arrested them and took them away, despite a video showing at least one of the men being tortured and killed and American voices in the background, and despite 10 of the 17 bodies being recovered near the camp. The military has conducted 3 investigations and are “confident that American forces played no role in any torture or killings” but still won’t reveal the results of any of the investigations. After the bodies were dug up yesterday, family members went to the provincial capital, Maidan Shahr, to protest the deaths of their relatives and demand justice. The protest, according to the Times, became “unruly” and Afghan soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing one of the protesting family members and critically wounding another. Provincial officials denied Afghan soldiers were responsible but a doctor at the hospital said the victims had been brought from the demonstration and were shot. We’ve trained the Afghans well, Mr. President, no matter what, deny everything and continue to deny even in the face of evidence to the contrary. The war grinds on and the “fighting season” is in full swing. The 2,214^th death of an American soldier was reported today, Warrant Officer Sean Mullen, 39, but civilians continue to bear the brunt of your protracted wars. The public has been lulled into thinking the war in Afghanistan is winding down, almost over; the generals paint a rosy picture of “progress.” Tell that to Atiqullah, Mehrabuddin, Mohammed Mansor or their family members shot while demanding justice. This isn’t even collateral damage; this is outright butchery, what all wars come to in the end, even your “necessary” war. But at least the villagers can quit digging now since all 17 missing men have been found. Or can they? How many more bodies might be buried around the camp?