Exclusive, on-the-ground interviews obtained by Brave New Foundation’s Rethink Afghanistan project confirm what NATO forces repeatedly denied: U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan killed dozens of people in the Sangin District of Helmand Province on July 23. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office first acknowledged the incident when they condemned the killings on July 26. At [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Helmand’
Secretary Gates, Backpedaling
Posted: June 9, 2010 in UncategorizedTags: Afghanistan, COIN, counterinsurgency, Daniel Ellsberg, Defense Department, Department of Defense, Helmand, Kandahar, McChrystal, Obama, Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, Rethink Afghanistan, Robert Gates
Defense Secretary Gates wants to extricate himself and the president from the impending P.R. disaster shaping up around the flailing Kandahar operation set for this Summer Fall. “I think it’s important to remember that Kandahar is not Afghanistan,” Gates said in comments that appeared to play down a U.S.-led operation for control of the area, [...]
U.S., Allies Responsible for Most Marjah Civilian Casualties
Posted: March 9, 2010 in UncategorizedTags: Afghanistan, Brave New Foundation, civilian casualties, civilian deaths, Helmand, insurgents, Marja, Marjah, Marjeh, NATO, Operation Moshtarak, Petraeus, Rethink Afghanistan, Robert Gates, Taliban
According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, U.S. and Allied forces have killed and injured more civilians than have the insurgents during Operation Moshtarak. Incredibly, the Pentagon continues to insist that this operation "protects the people." AIHRC’s Feb. 23 press release reports [h/t Josh Mull, our new Afghanistan blog fellow]: "AIHRC is concerned at [...]
Civilian Casualties in Marjah “Inevitable” as Largest Military Operation of Afghanistan War Begins
Posted: February 10, 2010 in UncategorizedTags: Afghanistan, Afghanistan war, airstrikes, civilian casualties, civilian deaths, Helmand, Larry Nicholson, Marjah, Obama, Rethink Afghanistan, Taliban, war in Afghanistan
Military officials say that civilian casualties in Marjah, Afghanistan are “inevitable” as U.S. and allied forces launch Operation Moshtarak, the largest military action since the U.S-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Thanks in part to conflicting messages from ISAF and in part due to some residents’ inability to flee, many civilians remain in Marjah, in [...]
NATO Airstrike Kills Another Three Civilians
Posted: December 18, 2009 in UncategorizedTags: Afghanistan, civilian casualties, civilian deaths, Helmand, ISAF, Kandahar, NATO, Operation Khanjar, Rethink Afghanistan, Taliban, war in Afghanistan
AFP reports that a NATO airstrike from a helicopter gunship killed three civilian men and wounded a woman in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF) press release claims the helicopter crew fired at men placing IEDs next to the road and afterwards “discovered civilians in a car adjacent to the IED site.” [...]
Troop Increase in Afghanistan Risks Spike in Civilian Casualties
Posted: December 6, 2009 in UncategorizedTags: Afghanistan, Helmand, Khandahar, Khost, Operation Khanjar, Rethink Afghanistan
“Loyalty to the community is…morally tolerable only if it includes values wider than those of the community.” –Reinhold Niebuhr, one of President Obama’s “favorite philosophers,” in The Irony of American History, p. 37. According to The New York Times, the new plan in Afghanistan will involve sending large new deployments of troops into insurgency-prone areas [...]
Costs
Posted: July 6, 2009 in UncategorizedTags: Afghanistan, civilian casualties, Helmand, military casualties, Operation Khanjar
U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan since launch of new operation in Helmand: NAME NOT RELEASED YET NAME NOT RELEASED YET NAME NOT RELEASED YET NAME NOT RELEASED YET NAME NOT RELEASED YET NAME NOT RELEASED YET Aaron E. Fairbairn, Private 1st Class, age 20 Justin A. Casillas, Private 1st Class, age 19 Charles S. Sharp, [...]
Helmand History Hangover
Posted: July 3, 2009 in UncategorizedTags: 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Afghanistan, airstrikes, civilian casualties, Helmand, Obama, Operation Khanjar, The Hangover
Having just seen The Hangover, I’m tempted to ask if the U.S. press corps has just taken a bunch of rohypnol before reporting on the Helmand operation. Every single report I’ve seen so far: emphasizes how absent we’ve been from the Helmand River Valley; and/or neglects to give any history about the actions of U.S. [...]
