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India-Pakistan
Prosecute Taliban for war crimes
2010-08-11
[Bangla Daily Star] The Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan should face prosecution for war crimes, human rights group Amnesty International said yesterday.
Better late to the party than never, I suppose ...
It accused the Taliban of the "systematic" killing of Afghan civilians, adding that they were becoming "far bolder" in doing so.
Let me guess: it was the photo, spread 'round the world, of the young woman with her nose hacked off that did it ...
The comments came after a United Nations report said the number of civilian casualties in the Afghanistan war rose by a third in the first half of 2010, accusing insurgents of killing seven times more civilians than international troops.

The report attributed the rising number of deaths in part to more frequent and sophisticated homemade bomb attacks and to a 95 percent increase in the number of civilians assassinated by insurgents.

"The Taliban and other insurgents are becoming far bolder in their systematic killing of civilians. Targeting of civilians is a war crime, plain and simple," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific director. "The Afghan people are crying out for justice and have a right to accountability and compensation."

Meanwhile, Amnesty welcomed a reported 30 percent drop in the number of deaths caused by international forces but called for greater accountability.

"Pro-government forces were responsible for at least 223 deaths in six months and NATO still has no coherent way of accounting for casualties," Zarifi said. "Special forces in Afghanistan are still failing to be open about their actions when being called to account over civilian casualties."
Posted by:Fred

#3  I thought the objective was peace and reconciliation with the Taliban, and subsequent power sharing.

Right now Mullah Omar is far more likely to become a cabinet minister in Kabul (maybe, as foreign minister he could pay a visit to the Ground Zero mosque next year) than to be convicted and executed for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

There's just no will in the US or NATO to defeat and punish the Taliban for 9/11 or any other crime.

The official designation may be "ISAF" or "Enduring Freedom", the real mission is surrender.
Posted by: Bill Photle7787   2010-08-11 12:06  

#2  Now the word is to give illegal combatants (terrorists, murderers, etc...) the same protections as legal combatants.

That Geneva Convention was a pretty good idea while it lasted.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2010-08-11 08:21  

#1  Whatever happened to summary execution for irregulars? Obviously no longer policy, even during vietnam. What is the official word on dealing with 'irregulars', spies, saboteurs, or what have you?
Posted by: bigjim-CA   2010-08-11 02:51  

00:00