posted on May, 21 2005 @ 02:30 PM
Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for control of military operations in Afghanistan following the release of a U.S. army report on the abuse of
detainees at military bases. Karzai also said his government wants custody of all Afghan prisoners and demanded the U.S. government take strong action
against offending soldiers.
news.yahoo.com
Karzai said he was "shocked" by allegations of abuse by poorly trained U.S. soldiers made by the New York Times in its Friday edition. The report
cited a 2,000-page confidential file on the Army's criminal investigation into the deaths of two Afghans at the Bagram base in December 2002.
Karzai said he will bring up the issue when he meets American leaders during a four-day visit to the United States starting Saturday.
He also demanded greater control over U.S. military operations here, including a stop to raids by American troops on Afghans' homes without the
knowledge of his administration.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
These are rather bold statements from Karzai, who until now has been relatively meek in his role as President, particularly where U.S. military
activities are concerned; not surprising, since if it weren't for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Karzai would not be where he is today.
Karzai is dreaming if he thinks his government will be given control over U.S. military operations, however I think that his request for custody of
prisoners is reasonable, and could well be a stabilizing factor in light of the recent trouble sparked by Newsweek's "Quran in the toilet" fiasco.
His request for strong action to be taken against soldiers implicated in abuse cases is also reasonable, since it appears that the majority have been
either hastily exonerated, or treated very lightly.
Related News Links:
hosted.ap.org
www.news.com.au
[edit on 2005/5/21 by wecomeinpeace]