New York Times: Civilian Deaths Raise Questions About C.I.A.-Trained Forces in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — A series of home raids by C.I.A.-trained Afghan counterterrorism forces in the last month resulted in the deaths of at least six innocent civilians, according to Afghan government officials, reviving an issue that has been a chronic source of tension between Afghanistan and the United States.
The deaths happened over the course of three raids in the restive eastern province of Khost, the officials said, including a Nov. 20 episode in which a husband and wife were killed with two American advisers present. The raids were conducted by the Khost Protection Force, one of the regional units known as counterterrorism pursuit teams, set up by the C.I.A. to fight the Taliban, the Haqqani network and Al Qaeda.
The C.I.A. has trained thousands of Afghan forces for such missions — around 3,500 in the Khost Protection Force alone. But from the start, some senior Afghan officials have considered them a problem, accused of human rights abuses and seen as largely unaccountable.
Update #1: CIA-funded Afghan militia accused of killing civilians -- The Telegraph
Update #2: CIA runs shadow war with Afghan militia implicated in civilian killings -- Washington Post
WNU Editor: The focus of this article is on Khost region .... but I suspect that such CIA operations are not only happening in this region, but are probably also being implemented and/or planned for other trouble spots.
1 comment:
Are we to believe that if the Russians, Chinese, or anyone else had trained the Afghan Special Forces or if they had trained themselves that there would have been fewer or no civilian casualties?
There are consultants that sell weekend seminars that promise zero defects or 100% process yield in the manufacturing environment.
I have a bridge to sell in Brooklyn and a patent on a perpetual motion machine.
The Afghan government is like the Pakistan government. Pakistan has a tacit agreement with the U.S. to go after Taliban in the Tribal region, but publicly they chastise the U.S.
In public Pakistan is our ally and in reality they arm, train and advise the Taliban.
This is no different than "dead Fish" firing his police commissioner after he sat on the video of a police shooting until after the mayoral election.
What to keep Russia busy? Then give Afghanistan to them. then Russia, Iran and Pakistan can be at each others throats.
At least the U.S. won't be blamed for this or that collateral damage.
Iran and Pakistan have designs on Afghanistan. If they do not split it up into spheres of influence or agree to a "puppet" government, they may be at each others throats. Currently, Baluchis or someone attacks Iran border posts and stuff from Pakistan. Pakistan may not encourage, but neither do they spend a lot of resources preventing it.
If the Russians feel the need to pacify Afghanistan to prevent Central Asia unrest will the Iranian and Russians still be partners?
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