US night raids provoke Afghan backlash

[unknownprince]

NATO night raids cause rising anger in Afghanistan, report says

NATO night raids cause rising anger in Afghanistan, report says | Afghanistan | Trend[19.09.2011 13:19]




A US-based institute said NATO-led night operations are making the military alliance unpopular in Afghanistan and that "security is at its worst level" since the ousting of Taliban regime in 2001.

The Open Society Foundations report published Monday said civilians are now exposed to night raids, which is a source for "durable hurt" even if no casualties occur, DPA reported.

"Mass detention operations, holding the entire village for questioning on site for prolonged period of time may violate international prohibitions against indiscriminate detention," it said.

Civilians have accused international forces of "spreading terror" and "creating more violence," the report said.

NATO spokesman General Cartsen Jacobson insisted that night raids are the most successful type of operations for the alliance.

Nearly 130,000 international forces are currently fighting the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan.

Night raids are a major area of contention between international forces and President Hamid Karzai, who is publicly critical of the amount of civilian casualties during the operations.

The UN has also blamed NATO and US forces for causing increasing civilian deaths due with airstrikes and night raids.

Civilian deaths from airstrikes increased 14 per cent during the first six months of the year, a UN report said in July. Civilian deaths from ground combat also increased by 36 per cent.





Surge in Night Raids Fuels Afghan Anger

Report Shows Blowback from Raids Undermines U.S. and ISAF Reforms

Press Release

Date:
September 19, 2011
Contact: Gabi Chojkier
gchojkier@osi-dc.org
1-202-728-8683


Kabul, Afghanistan—Ten years after the invasion of Afghanistan, security is at its worst level since the fall of the Taliban. U.S. and NATO forces argue that night raids are their best tool against insurgents, but a new report by the Open Society Foundations and The Liaison Office finds that the cost of the raids outweighs the benefits.
Though international forces have improved the conduct of raids, the report, The Cost of Kill/Capture: Impact of Night Raids on Afghan Civilians, found that Afghan recognition of these efforts has been undercut by the increased number of raids.
“International forces have made big improvements in the last year, reducing civilian casualties and improving accuracy. However, many more civilians are now subjected to night raids, which cause lasting harm even when no casualties result.” said Erica Gaston, a human rights lawyer for the Open Society Foundations and co-author of the report.
An estimated 12 to 20 night raids now occur per night, resulting in thousands of detentions per year, many of whom are non-combatants. Mass detention operations, holding entire villages for questioning on site for prolonged periods of time, may violate international prohibitions against indiscriminate detention, the report found.
Civilians feel caught between the warring parties, and often blame international forces. As one man from Nangarhar, interviewed in the report said, “They claim to be against terrorists, but what they are doing is terrorism. It spreads terror. It creates more violence.” Weak accountability mechanisms where civilian casualties and mistaken detention occur and a failure to explore alternatives to night raids further increase anger over the raids.
The public resentment generated by night raids obscures good faith efforts by international forces to reduce civilian casualties and improve security, and is a stumbling block to a long-term U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership. International forces argue that night raids are invaluable because they disrupt insurgent networks, but the report suggests this is outweighed by the human and strategic costs.
“In the last two years, as the rate of night raids has risen, insurgent attacks have increased dramatically. Afghan civilians are bearing the brunt of the surge in raids, without seeing security improvements,” Gaston said.

[unknownprince]

thank Goerge Soros of the Open Society Foundation for this report.

The night raids have caused the whole Afghan nation to rise up against the US occupation of their land.

They will not tolerate the occupiers and nor their puppets, ever

[unknownprince]

Report argues that Afghan night raids make more enemies than they catch

Report argues that Afghan night raids make more enemies than they catch - The Washington Post By Associated Press,


KABUL, Afghanistan — Increased nighttime military raids by international military forces in Afghanistan have created a resentment that has undercut any battlefield gains from the tactic, according to a report released Monday by a U.S. think tank.
The New York-based Open Society Foundations, founded by liberal billionaire George Soros, said in its report that NATO and U.S. troops have made important improvements in the way they conduct night raids following complaints from the Afghan government that its citizens were being treated unfairly or rudely. Civilian casualties are down, and the operations are better targeted.










However, the report says even nighttime raids conducted with the best practices breed discontentment and mistrust among both ordinary Afghans — who feel less secure knowing that men in uniform might burst into their homes at any time. The Afghan government has repeatedly called for a reduction in nighttime operations over which it has little control and said such raids undermine efforts to reconcile with those who open to leaving the insurgency, according to the report.
The findings are potentially troubling for an international mission that is likely to depend even more on quick-strike operations like night raids as the U.S. and other troop-contributing nations draw down forces over the next few years.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has publicly denouced nighttime raids in speeches and interviews, saying that the operations — in which a small group of soldiers push into a compound and search the premises and the residents — treat too many civilians as if they are insurgents and violate citizens’ privacy in an intensely closed society. Troops on night raids are also regularly accused of mistreating women or defiling copies of the Quran. Though the allegations often turn out to be specious, they still damage the reputation of NATO troops.
International troops conducted an average of 19 raids a night between December 2010 and February 2011, according to NATO figures cited in the report. More up-to-date figures were not available but the researchers interviewed a NATO official in April who said that as many as 40 raids might take place on any given night in Afghanistan. That represents a sharp increase over the past two years, the report says.
“The escalation in raids has taken the battlefield more directly into Afghan homes, sparking tremendous backlash among the Afghan population,” the report argues, adding, “Complaints over night raids have marred Afghan relations with international partners, particularly the United States, and have complicated long-term strategic partnership discussions.”
A spokesman for NATO forces in Kabul said that night operations are always conducted along with Afghan forces and approved by Afghan officials. He said that the tactic continues to be one of the most effective ways to combat the Taliban insurgency.
“Night operations are an effective method of maintaining the pressure on the enemy while minimizing risk to innocent civilians,” Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings said. “Eighty-five percent of night operations are conducted without a shot being fired and account for less than 1 percent of civilian casualties.”
Cummings said, however, that NATO forces are reviewing the report and is open to implementing any recommendations that will improve their operations in Afghanistan. He did not say if NATO was willing to sharply reduce raids.
The author of the report, Erica Gaston, said the increase in raids has come alongside an increase in insurgent attacks, meaning that Afghan citizens are not feeling any of security benefits from the operations.
“Afghan civilians are bearing the brunt of the surge in raids, without seeing security improvements,” Gaston said in a statement.

[unknownprince]

Taliban are Afghans, and Afghans are opposed to the US and their cronies Karzai/Spanta. No one tolerates this, and all tribes have joined together in unity and risen up. Even clowns like Abdul Raziq no longer fight for the US. If before the war started, the Taliban were fading away, they have gained not only legitimacy, but power in Afghanistan.

As to other Afghans. Well, half of the Kabul diplomatic attackers were Tajiks, not Pashtun.

That speaks volumes.