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AFGHAN CONFLICT

Afghanistan Bans US Forces From Province, Alleging Torture and Murder

The situation seems to have taken US forces by surprise

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by Mary Noble

Senior Editor t

US Special Forces working with the Northern Alliance / Image: US Army

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has ordered all NATO and American troops to leave the Wardak province within 2 weeks.

Karzai told a meeting of the National Security Council that "it became clear that armed individuals named as US special force stationed in Wardak province engage in harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people."

The BBC quotes Karzai making more detailed, shocking allegations: "A recent example in the province is an incident in which nine people were disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force and in a separate incident a student was taken away at night from his home, whose tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge."

It's not clear exactly which forces were responsible. "Afghan officials indicated that the Afghan [troops] were the main suspects," reports the NYTimes, while "the Americans were seen as enabling the abuses rather than perpetrating them."

Karzai's spokesman shed some further light on the decision: "it is better to make the Special Forces withdraw from the province, and let the local people understand that they are facing only Afghan forces. That will bring clarity to the situation."

Via the BBC and the New York Times.
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Comments (view in Forum)

  • MarkColwell
    !
    If Karzai is going to survive once we pull out, he's going to have to be perceived as something more than an American puppet. This is one opportunity to paint that picture and leave an area that can get along without us. Despite the nasty allegations, it's win/win.
  • MadAmerican
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    Could be their own people did this to get them out so that Alqeda could move back in. Lets get all of them out and cut off all aid. We'll save American lives and a sh**load of money!
  • Zazziness
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    The last time Afghanistan was left to its own devices, the Taliban took over, they began executing people in the main sports stadium, and the sheltered the Al Qaeda terrorists who bombed New York. I wish to God I had some solution but I'm afraid I'm not sure that leaving them alone will save American lives.
  • DogLady_1
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    You're right. Not good... We shouldn't be meddling in the domestic affairs af another soveriegn nation anyway. Time to get our troops home.
  • Arumizy
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    @wonka45ACP I agree whole heartedly, if we could have interrogated the guys we caught planting I.E.Ds properly and however necessary in Iraq we could have saved lives and gotten the ones building them.
  • Arumizy
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    @dances-weebles So you posting a google search of vietnam is somehow proof in your eyes. Come back with actual evidence or do not come back at all.

  • View all 18 replies >

  • u
    culinary
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    Get the hell out of thete and let them fend for themselves. Those people hate Americans. Always have, always will. As far as I'm concerned, let them blow each other to s $#t.
  • u
    Kellso
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    Why is it not??? Because THEY ALL are cut from the same rotten goat skin! Let the mongrels starve and kill eachother and dont spend or send ONE MORE RED CENT over there to ANY OF THEM!!!!
    We had best be getting our troops ready to into Korea to try our best to STOP those murdering jungle vermon from sending nukes upon the free world!!!
  • hankf68
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    It's just another failed attempt throughout history (maybe w/exception of Aleksandar the Great) of a foreign invader trying to conquer and control Afghanistan...our arrogance, greed and hardheadedness is getting our children killed, not counting all the other human beings being murdered, time to come home...Empire building has no place in our modern (?) societies!
  • Tralee
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    It's not surprising he said it and it's probably no true. I say we just leave then to kill each other off. We tried to help the country but the country just isn't interested, they must like the Taliban ways more than we knew, they must like their women beaten for laughing, showing an ankle or walking around without a male family member. So, stop the money today, we need it here to pay bills and leave. Leave them to their own devices. Karzai has been a mistake since day one.
  • scotta
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    Is this calling the pot calling.the kettle black. This is possible, in war a lot things happen. What is going to fill the void when the troops leave. They will be wishing the had our.troops to kick around. If by some chance they want us back so sorry banned from area.
  • u
    Yank
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    There have been many cases of the Taliban dressing as US troops or Afghanistan security personal to attack US forces. Now it seems the Afghanistan President wants to believe sketchy reports of people supposedly identified as US Special Forces going around and torturing and murdering people.
  • ZombieMedic
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    That's funny! If they don't want us there, all the more reason to leave and cut down the military to reduce overspending! If the Soviets couldn't even beat the Afghans, then we sure won't.
  • u
    IMAQT
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    But if we leave, then everyone would have to admit that Ron Paul was but one of handful of elected officials that had it right all along. What good does it do if we save Anbar, but lose Arizona? Taking care of matters at home has never looked so good and a policy that is not financed by our kids.
  • gammler
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    It's time for the US to get out of Afghanistan. Afghanistan has been called the "graveyard of empires". Ask the British or the Soviets.
  • jessejaymes
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    there is a number of realities here. The first is that more money is leaving Afghanistan every year than their GNP. Where do you suppose that money comes from? The USA puppet govt is socking away money around the world to levels any dictator would be proud of. Yet our troops don't have proper armor to this day and the Afgan govt is thought to be the most corrupt in the entire world. Always has been. Moving troops out of provinces is a way to stall the Taliban by literally giving back the province to the warlords (in this case the Northern Alliance) so they can work to build their fiefdom prior to Karzaa breaking and running. And break and run he will the second we're gone. He won't last six months.

    Bush screwed up Aghanistan, Obama has done the same. The level of corruption by our Military suppliers, by the Afgan culture, by our own govt precludes our nation building successfully anywhere today. We got Bin Laden, that was the point, there is no excuse to talk bout "we'll be out in two more years". No we won't. We will still be pouring money into the country paying off someone like a kid giving a bully his lunch money so they won't attack us again. And they'll attack u again. Islam is at war with the world.. We need to pull out NOW and inform them not another dime and if they attack us again they get nuked. Simple as that.
  • DogLady_1
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    "Where do you suppose that money comes from?" Poppies... opium... weapons trafficking... "The level of corruption by our Military suppliers, by the Afghan culture, by our own govt precludes our nation building successfully anywhere today." True... and why are we even involved in nation-building? There are no successful incidents of nation-building by military using guns and bombs. "Islam is at war with the world" No, Isalimc extremists are at war with thw world. Isalm itself is a peaceful religion... but just like Christianity, you have those sects who use their religion to subjugate and oppress. And Islam is a religion, not a nation. The nations we are blowing up are also victims of extremist groups. That would be like bombing the entire state of Texas because of the violent gangs that live there.
  • jessejaymes
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    @DogLady_1 There are no peaceful religions. When Hindu's allow the abuse of women that goes on in India that is not peaceful. When Buddist monks set themselves on fire that is not peaceful. Christianity has a disgusting track record equal to Islam. Islam is at war with the world because there is no rebuttal by "peaceful Islam" to their extremists. When Christian extremists go over the line we take them down like in Waco. Nobody in Islam takes down their extremists. Wake up. Saudi Arabia is our strongest Muslim country ally and they abuse women and children every day. No thanks. There are no civilians in Islam. And that money/ Get real. They don't make money trafficking weapons. To who? they BUY weapons not sell them. Jezz Louise that's irrational. And poppy.opium is most controlled by the Taliban. They make that money and buy weapons. The money being salted away out of the country is money the USA and the world bank and others have given the Afgan govt for "nation building" and the nation it's building is the bank accounts of karizaa and his cohorts.
  • DogLady_1
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    @jessejaymes - "There are no peaceful religions." That's only true if you only look at the acts of those that are rejected by the peaceful followers of the religion. I think you are ignoring the billions of the peace-loving religous practitioners in the world... violent people will find numerous reasons to justify their violent behavior. God is a popular scapegoat. No civilians in Islam? Yeah, that's their rationale too... And they consider you an evil Zionist because you are American, even if you insist you are not a Jew or a Christian... you are not very different from them with that attitude... And there is plenty of rebuttal, condemnation and protest by peaceful Islamists about those who kill in their god's name. Again, you just aren't looking for it.
  • jessejaymes
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    @DogLady_1 Well you know I did my turn at being a pacifist and I've watched this world go up in flames over my lifetime and we've not had one Hitler or one Stalin behind it. It's always religion. No thanks.
  • DogLady_1
    !
    @jessejaymes - Well, I've never tried my hand at pacifism and I have watched this world go up in flames over my lifetime... And I denounce those who use my religion as a justification for the very things my religion condemns. I think it's stupid to fight wars for religious reasons too. You are stereotyping... Not all religious people are like al qaeda or the Spanish Inquisition. And Hitler opposed organized religion and Stalin was an atheist. Both hated religious people. That is what motivated them to kill religious people. But why do you reject God because of something humans did?

  • View all 9 replies >

  • AlexMIA
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    NATO's investigation has just cleared US special forces of the accusations. Karsai just shot himself in the foot! He was just pissed that special forces weren't disbanding provincial militia fighters loyal to tribal leaders, instead they were training them, in effect leaving some power with the people in that area. The Afgan pres is smearing US troops because they won't leave him with full millitary control of the area.
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