Voices on Afghanistan Washington refuses to hear

Re-reported, compiled, edited by Carolyn Bennett

“If we do not take civilian components of the transition strategy as seriously as the military component, we will fail,” Kai Eide, the outgoing Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan said in his final report before Security Council in January. “For years, there has been a consensus ─ at least in rhetoric ─ that this conflict cannot ultimately be solved by military means,” he said, “but most of our focus has nevertheless been on the number and activity of military forces.”

Casualty reporting
February 28, 2010 (Accurate totals unknown)

• Anti-war dot com March 19, 2003 ─ [Since the Obama inauguration January 20, 2009: 151] Wounded 31,693-100,000; U.S. veterans with brain injuries 320,000; Suicides 18 a day http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
• Iraq Body Count figures: 95,557-104,255, http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
• ICasualties IRAQ: 4,380 U.S., 4,698 Coalition; AFGHANISTAN: 1,007 U.S., 1,667 Coalition http://icasualties.org/oif/
• Just Foreign Policy: [not current] 1,366,350 http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq


Voices, News from Afghanistan
Washington refuses to heed U.S. Middle East/Central/South Asia WAR

This past week from Kabul, London and elsewhere, UN officials pleaded for children in conflict and for an end to violent aggression. “I have always felt that the children in Afghanistan have probably suffered more than anywhere in the world,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, in a February 24, 2010, press conference in Kabul. “I came here during the time of the Taliban in 1997 and actually met with ministers of the Taliban government. I have now come twice and have personally witnessed this continuous exposure to war and suffering. It is very important that we try to focus attention on children.”

Coomaraswamy said that in 2009 there were 615 educational-related incidents ─ double those of the previous year ─ and more than 100 health-related incidents.

Three hundred and forty-six (346) children died (as part of the conflict):131 died in aerial strikes, 22 from search-and-raid by Special Forces, 128 died at the hand of anti-Government elements (AGE) ─ assassinations, suicide bombings. Undetermined perpetrators caused other deaths.

The ideal situation, she said, is that “there should be no war” but “if there is going to be conflict, military activities should be judged by rules and procedures of international humanitarian law.”

In his February 22 opinion piece in the UK Telegraph, Kai Eide again urged diplomacy, respect for and cooperation with the Afghan people. “A political process must be shaped and led by Afghan authorities and cannot be imposed by international civilians or military with scant knowledge of this complex society. However, the international community must support – in financial and political terms – and facilitate where the Afghan authorities desire.…

“Loud and public invitations to the insurgency to join a reconciliation process will most likely be met with rejections. More cautious diplomatic initiatives may produce results. As in many other peace processes, confidence-building measures could be undertaken to test the prospects for a wider process. The delisting of individuals from the UN sanctions list could be one such measure. Five individuals have already been delisted as a result of a request by the Afghan Government in January. More should be considered. Another confidence-building measure should be the release of detainees from facilities such as the U.S. detention centre at Bagram.…

“We should not underestimate the number of those who fight for reasons of ideology, resentment and a sense of humiliation – in addition to criminal elements. Often, such motivation stems from a conviction that the government is corrupt and unable to provide law and order combined with a sense of foreign invasion – not only in military terms, but also in terms of disrespect for Afghanistan's culture, values and religion.…

“There is – particularly at this moment – an urgent need to inject more political oxygen in the non-military areas of our partnership.”

Washington refuses to listen and the bloodletting continues ─ February 28, 2010 ─ Eleven civilians died after a roadside bomb hit Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand. Though thousands of U.S., NATO and Afghan troops have been pursuing a major offensive against the Taliban in Helmand’s Marjah and Nad Ali areas since February 13 ─ the town of Marjah continues to see sporadic resistance. More than a dozen foreign soldiers and at least two of their Afghan counterparts died during Moshtarak. Dozens of Taliban fighters have also died although the authorities have yet to give precise figures. At least 15 civilians died in the offensive, 12 of them by a rocket fired by U.S. forces. The violence, military operations, reportedly will expand to the neighboring province of Kandahar. An estimated 121,000 mainly U.S. and NATO international troops are at war in Afghanistan.



Sources and notes
“UN Afghan chief stresses political strategy in final Security Council briefing,” January 6, 2010, http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/88576.html
“SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy Press Conference,” February 24, 2010, http://unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1741&ctl=Details&mid=1882&ItemID=7881
“Afghanistan: UN official urges steps to prevent child deaths in conflict,” February 24, 2010, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33879&Cr=afghan&Cr1=
“Commentary: Kai Eide: ‘The largest military offensive since 2002 is now under way in the Helmand province in Afghanistan. At the same time, a consensus is emerging that the conflict in this country can ultimately not be solved by military means’ (Kai Eide,
Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Afghanistan” (Telegraph UK), February 22, 2010, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7293889/Commentary-Kai-Eide.html
“Top UN envoy to Afghanistan calls for greater political effort to end conflict ─ ‘The involvement of neighboring countries, and especially Pakistan, will be critical,’ concluded Mr. Eide, who heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), ” February 23, 2010, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33872&Cr=Afghan&Cr1=
“Top UN envoy to Afghanistan deplores militant attacks in Kabul,” January 18, 2010, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33503&Cr=afghan&Cr1=
“UNAMA calls for safety first, as civilian casualties rise by 14 percent 2009, January 13, 2010, http://unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1783&ctl=Details&mid=1882&ItemID=7260
“Lethal Bombing in South Afghanistan,” February 28, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/02/2010228133831513930.html
“Operation Moshtarak (Dari and Arabic for Together or Joint)” is the name given by foreign forces to the latest killing spree in an area described as “the 'poppy-growing belt' of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan.”