[lbo-talk] The Nation: tallying the Afghan victims of America's war

[Robert Naiman]

When an American soldier dies in Afghanistan, his death is not anonymous.
The tragedy of that loss is mourned, and his life is remembered and
celebrated. In many cases, the death is covered prominently in local and
state media, often for several days. The Pentagon dutifully records the
loss, medals are delivered, a ceremonial flag is presented to survivors,
and the Defense Department pays the soldier’s family $100,000 in
compensation, plus back pay, insurance, housing allowances and more.

But when an Afghan dies in the war—especially an Afghan civilian—her death
is rarely noticed by the outside world. Often, it’s not even recorded by
Afghan hospitals or morgues. Asked whether his country keeps records of
civilian casualties, Said Jawad, the former Afghan ambassador to the United
States, sighs. “In Afghanistan, you know, we don’t even have birth
certificates,” he says. “Do you know we don’t even have a list of Afghan
soldiers and police, members of the security forces, who are killed?”

http://www.thenation.com/article/176256/americas-afghan-victims

-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org