U.S. Inaction Seen After Taliban P.O.W.’s Died

In a 2001 mass killing, bodies were said to have been buried at a mass grave in Dasht-i-Leili. Physicians for Human Rights

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — After a mass killing of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Taliban prisoners of war by the forces of an American-backed warlord during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, Bush administration officials repeatedly discouraged efforts to investigate the episode, according to government officials and human rights organizations.

American officials had been reluctant to pursue an investigation — sought by officials from the F.B.I., the State Department, the Red Cross and human rights groups — because the warlord, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, was on the payroll of the C.I.A. and his militia worked closely with United States Special Forces in 2001, several officials said. They said the United States also worried about undermining the American-supported government of President Hamid Karzai, in which General Dostum had served as a defense official.

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My Comment: This is a long New York Times article, but it ignores many of the events that lead up to the final capture and imprisonment of these Taliban fighters. I remember those days very vividly, especially the impact that U.S. Special Forces and CIA personnel had .... in cooperation with the Northern Alliance and commanders like General Dotsum .... to break the back of the Taliban in the North of the country, followed by the rest of the country a few weeks later.

It was not a pretty war.

U.S. soldiers with their Afghan allies were outnumbered and outgunned. What made the difference in this conflict was U.S. Air Power that devastated Taliban convoys and troop positions. But after every strike, Taliban survivors and a few stragglers were always picked up .... and in many cases were treated harshly. I still remember one footage of two Taliban fighters being executed at the side of the road after they had killed a Northern Alliance commander. A clear case of a war crime being committed .... but what can you do.

General Dotsum and his men were essential for victory in this fight, especially when Taliban prisoners rebelled at Mazir-Sharif, killing a number of guards including CIA officer Mike Spann. Dotsum, with his men and with the assistance of 500lb US bombing strikes, were able to crush the rebellion but at a horrendous cost. This was a disaster in the making .... but when I reflect on it today I still come to the same conclusion .... they did the best with what they had, but in the end they had no choice but to harsh in pacifying the Taliban.

Is there a need for an investigation .... absolutely .... is now the best time to do it now .... absolutely not. Afghanistan is in the middle of a bloody insurgency .... any information obtained from such an investigation will be tainted and corrupted because of ongoing hostilities. When the war is over (if it is ever over), that is when an independent investigation should be started, and the results made public.

Update: No Grounds to Probe Afghan War Crimes -- Military.com