Tuesday, Aug 10, 2004
Karzai extracts U.S. pledge of careful policy
KABUL, AUG. 9. United States troops in Afghanistan will try to kick down fewer doors and cuff fewer bewildered villagers when they are searching for insurgents, the American military said on Monday, in an attempt to polish the image of a force tarnished also by allegations of prisoner abuse.
Lt. Gen. David Barno, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, agreed to a 15-point plan to improve relations with civilians and officials after the President, Hamid Karzai, called him in for talks, a military spokesman said.
The changes will improve cooperation in defeating insurgents and "maintaining goodwill between the people of Afghanistan and coalition forces,'' the spokesman, Maj. Scott Nelson, said.
Local leaders have repeatedly complained of heavy-handed tactics by the U.S.-dominated coalition, especially during searches that sometimes involve air power and take place in the dead of night.
Muscular approach
Rights groups warn that the muscular approach may have caused unnecessary deaths and stoked sympathy for Taliban rebels who continue to defy the currently 18,000-strong force under Lt. Gen. Barno's command.
The military says its critics forget that, more than two years after the hardline Islamic regime's ouster, Afghanistan remains a war zone.
Signalling a softer policy after a meeting on Wednesday with Mr. Karzai in his presidential palace, Lt. Gen. Barno also said his commanders would consult more with local officials and tribal elders before starting sweeps.
Troops would also return seized materials, receive training in ``local customs and courtesies'' and get elders to ask residents to open their doors before soldiers force their way in.
Commanders also agreed a raft of measures relating to prisoners - a particularly sensitive issue since the scandal over abuse of detainees in Iraq drew renewed attention to long-standing complaints in Afghanistan.
The military will fund reconstruction projects in areas where people were detained and subsequently released; Afghans will be told to go to the international Red Cross for information on prisoners; and a new Afghan-U.S. body will ``resolve detainee issues,'' Maj. Nelson said.
The U.S. military is investigating several allegations that prisoners were abused in its jails in Afghanistan, including at least four deaths. Lt. Gen. Barno is expected to present the delayed results of a review of the 20 holding facilities for prisoners later this month.
Eurocorps takes charge
Eurocorps today assumed command of 7,000 NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in a heavily guarded ceremony in Kabul marking the 12-year-old force's first deployment outside Europe.
The European force faces a tough challenge during its six-month command, with security deteriorating ahead of October 9 presidential elections as a wave of attacks targets aid workers, officials and troops.
``Afghanistan is now at a crossroads and ... it will be for ISAF to see that things develop in the right direction,'' French General Jean-Louis Py said as he took over command from Canadian General Rick Hillier.
AP
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