Wednesday, October 19, 2005
HIGH STANDARDS OF DISCIPLINE ARE ALSO A FORM OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Details are sketchy but some American soldiers are being accused today of having violated the Geneva Convention in Afghanistan by having desecrated the bodies of enemy combatants. While mutilation of the enemy dead is traditionally considered a provocative act in military history, the issue is of particular sensitivity among Muslims because Islam, like Judaism, has specific and strict religious rules regarding the burial of the dead.
CENTCOM in Afghanistan and at HQ has taken a very hard line on this incident, pro-actively reaching out to the press to announce the criminal investigation and the serious nature of the charges:
"U.S. INVESTIGATES ALLEGATION OF LAW OF WAR VIOLATION, BAGRAM AIRFIELD,
Afghanistan - The Army Criminal Investigation Division has initiated an investigation into alleged misconduct by U.S. service members, including the burning of dead enemy combatant bodies under inappropriate circumstances."This command takes all allegations of misconduct or inappropriate behavior seriously and has directed an investigation into circumstances surrounding this allegation," said Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, Combined Joint Task Force-76 Commander. "If the allegation is substantiated, the appropriate course of action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and corrective action will be taken." Service members are expected to abide by the highest standards of behavior and the law, he said. "This command does not condone the mistreatment of enemy combatants or the desecration of their religious and cultural beliefs," Kamiya said. "This alleged action is repugnant to our common values, is contrary to our commands approved tactical operating procedures, and is not sanctioned by this command. Our efforts to thoroughly investigate this allegation are a reflection of our commitment to the Government of Afghanistan and the Afghan people."
American intervention in Afghanistan has by and large been far more successful than in Iraq in part because, relatively speaking, the " footprint" has always been light. Moreover, the light presence was combined with serious and ongoing attempts to win over Afghans of all ethnic, tribal and sectarian backgrounds including Pushtun Deobandis, most of whom ( though by no means all) were once the core supporters of the Taliban. Public desecration of dead Afghans or even foreign Muslims by U.S. troops is less than helpful in that regard and escalates the risk for all American personnel. The original jihad against the Communist government in Kabul that resulted in the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the ten year war was triggered by Parcham-Khalq Marxist secret police goons going into the villages and roughing up the local mullahs and generally stomping on the religious sensibilities of rural Afghans.
Quick action by American authorities, as commanders seem to be taking, is more likely to defuse the situation and avoid handing al Qaida and Taliban die-hards a propaganda coup. ¶ 7:27 PM
Details are sketchy but some American soldiers are being accused today of having violated the Geneva Convention in Afghanistan by having desecrated the bodies of enemy combatants. While mutilation of the enemy dead is traditionally considered a provocative act in military history, the issue is of particular sensitivity among Muslims because Islam, like Judaism, has specific and strict religious rules regarding the burial of the dead.
CENTCOM in Afghanistan and at HQ has taken a very hard line on this incident, pro-actively reaching out to the press to announce the criminal investigation and the serious nature of the charges:
"U.S. INVESTIGATES ALLEGATION OF LAW OF WAR VIOLATION, BAGRAM AIRFIELD,
Afghanistan - The Army Criminal Investigation Division has initiated an investigation into alleged misconduct by U.S. service members, including the burning of dead enemy combatant bodies under inappropriate circumstances."This command takes all allegations of misconduct or inappropriate behavior seriously and has directed an investigation into circumstances surrounding this allegation," said Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, Combined Joint Task Force-76 Commander. "If the allegation is substantiated, the appropriate course of action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and corrective action will be taken." Service members are expected to abide by the highest standards of behavior and the law, he said. "This command does not condone the mistreatment of enemy combatants or the desecration of their religious and cultural beliefs," Kamiya said. "This alleged action is repugnant to our common values, is contrary to our commands approved tactical operating procedures, and is not sanctioned by this command. Our efforts to thoroughly investigate this allegation are a reflection of our commitment to the Government of Afghanistan and the Afghan people."
American intervention in Afghanistan has by and large been far more successful than in Iraq in part because, relatively speaking, the " footprint" has always been light. Moreover, the light presence was combined with serious and ongoing attempts to win over Afghans of all ethnic, tribal and sectarian backgrounds including Pushtun Deobandis, most of whom ( though by no means all) were once the core supporters of the Taliban. Public desecration of dead Afghans or even foreign Muslims by U.S. troops is less than helpful in that regard and escalates the risk for all American personnel. The original jihad against the Communist government in Kabul that resulted in the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the ten year war was triggered by Parcham-Khalq Marxist secret police goons going into the villages and roughing up the local mullahs and generally stomping on the religious sensibilities of rural Afghans.
Quick action by American authorities, as commanders seem to be taking, is more likely to defuse the situation and avoid handing al Qaida and Taliban die-hards a propaganda coup. ¶ 7:27 PM
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I don't know the facts of this situation. Larwyn has sent me this, though
There simply wasn't enough room on the rocky hilltop above Gonbaz
village in southern Afghanistan for the U.S. platoon and the corpses of
the two Taliban fighters. The Taliban men had been killed in a firefight
24 hours earlier, and in the 90 degree heat, their bodies had become an
unbearable presence, soldiers who were present have told TIME. Nor was
the U.S. Army unit about to leave -- the hilltop commanded a
strategic view of the village below where other Taliban were suspected
to be hiding.
Earlier, Lt. Eric Nelson, the leader of B Company, I-508 platoon leader
had sent word down to Gonbaz asking the villagers to pick up the bodies
and bury them according to Muslim ritual. But the villagers refused --
probably because the dead fighters weren't locals but Pakistanis,
surmised one U.S. army officer.
It was then that Lt. Nelson took the decision that could jeopardize his
service career. "We decided to burn the bodies," one soldier recounts,
"because they were bloated and they stank." News of this cremation may
have remained on these scorching hills of southern Afghanistan, had the
gruesome act not been recorded on film by an Australian photojournalist,
Stephen Dupont. Instead, when the footage aired on Australian TV on
Wednesday, it unleashed world outrage. A Pentagon spokesman described
the incident as "repugnant" and said that the army was launching a
criminal investigation into the alleged desecration of the corpses,
which is in violation of the Geneva Convention on human rights.
There simply wasn't enough room on the rocky hilltop above Gonbaz
village in southern Afghanistan for the U.S. platoon and the corpses of
the two Taliban fighters. The Taliban men had been killed in a firefight
24 hours earlier, and in the 90 degree heat, their bodies had become an
unbearable presence, soldiers who were present have told TIME. Nor was
the U.S. Army unit about to leave -- the hilltop commanded a
strategic view of the village below where other Taliban were suspected
to be hiding.
Earlier, Lt. Eric Nelson, the leader of B Company, I-508 platoon leader
had sent word down to Gonbaz asking the villagers to pick up the bodies
and bury them according to Muslim ritual. But the villagers refused --
probably because the dead fighters weren't locals but Pakistanis,
surmised one U.S. army officer.
It was then that Lt. Nelson took the decision that could jeopardize his
service career. "We decided to burn the bodies," one soldier recounts,
"because they were bloated and they stank." News of this cremation may
have remained on these scorching hills of southern Afghanistan, had the
gruesome act not been recorded on film by an Australian photojournalist,
Stephen Dupont. Instead, when the footage aired on Australian TV on
Wednesday, it unleashed world outrage. A Pentagon spokesman described
the incident as "repugnant" and said that the army was launching a
criminal investigation into the alleged desecration of the corpses,
which is in violation of the Geneva Convention on human rights.
As I said, details were sketchy.
At the time I received the info there was nothing on this story anywhere to cross-check. I sat on it for much of the day and checked again, still nothing.
The CENTCOM source has been *extremely* reliable in the past so I posted as the criminal investigation was at least a demonstrable fact and officially stated.
Should this turn out to be some kind of unjust, trumped up mess, I promise that I'll post on that too.
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At the time I received the info there was nothing on this story anywhere to cross-check. I sat on it for much of the day and checked again, still nothing.
The CENTCOM source has been *extremely* reliable in the past so I posted as the criminal investigation was at least a demonstrable fact and officially stated.
Should this turn out to be some kind of unjust, trumped up mess, I promise that I'll post on that too.
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