President Obama may be withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan, but

but according to Amnesty International, it is guilty of the same practices

of torture and criminal murder as its predecessor.

 

 

U.S. Still Killing Afghans 'Like We Were Insects' (Afghanistan Times, Afghanistan)

 

"Since the United States is the leading belligerent in the war on terror, there is no one capable of calling the country to account. It has a military accountable to no one. Its members are even immune from International Criminal Court trial. This is the very thing that has exposed the country's true face. America has two faces: one it wears at home and another it wears abroad. The two faces are 180 degrees opposed. At home, Americans are told that their government fights for democracy and human rights - including women's rights and tackling terrorism. Abroad, however, the U.S. government goes totally against what it says at home."

 

EDITORIAL

 

August 13, 2014

 

Afghanistan Times - Afghanistan - Original Article (English)

Amnesty International has released a candid and honest report on the Obama Pentagon, which highlights the way it has covered up war crimes in Afghanistan. The human rights watchdog says that as recently as last year, the U.S. military systematically ignored evidence of torture and unlawful killings in Afghanistan. With its report, Amnesty has blown the lid on the issue, but it must be said that the U.S. military didn’t begin the heinous practice last year, but have been at it for at least the last decade. The reason President Hamid Karzai has always worn an angry look in front of Americans is because he knew about this.

 

Why has he so vociferously objected to an American troop presence in Afghan villages? Because candidly speaking, the U.S. military has systemically covered up or disregarded abundant compelling evidence of war crimes, torture, and unlawful killings.

 

Afghan media, including this newspaper, have consistently raised concerns, but it is worth appreciating that an international organization like Amnesty International has finally released such a report.

 

This may be the reason Karzai has defiantly refused to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States. Under pressure from all sides - from the parliament, the senate, his advisors, and few friendly countries, but he hasn't budged an inch from his standpoint. He knows that the security deal is crucial to retaining political, economic and security progress, but he may well have been focused on its darker side: absolute immunity for American troops. As Amnesty revealed, the U.S. military has failed to properly investigate reports of criminal acts, and in some cases has tampered with evidence to hide wrongdoing.

 

Since the United States is the leading belligerent in the war on terror, there is no one capable of calling the country to account. It has a military accountable to no one. Its members are even immune from International Criminal Court trial. This is the very thing that has exposed the country's true face. America has two faces: one it wears at home and another it wears abroad. The two faces are 180 degrees opposed. At home, Americans are told that their government fights for democracy and human rights - including women's rights and tackling terrorism. Abroad, however, the U.S. government goes totally against what it says at home.

 

Today, the world is far less secure than it was 15 or 20 years ago. To safeguard its national interests and defeat the USSR, the United States created a force called the mujahedeen made up of religious fanatics. When they were fighting Soviet troops, they were feted as war heroes and holy warriors by the American press. However, now that the U.S. has come like a whirlwind to this part of the world, it has adopted a far different course full of human rights violations, in which Afghan citizens were killed as if we were insects.

Posted By Worldmeets.US

 

President Obama has already admitted that "we tortured some folks." However, Amnesty International's Joanne Mariner, the author of the agency's latest report, says that this is not a reference to the Bush Administration alone. This torture is happening under Obama. The difference is that the Bush Administration officially sanctioned the torture, while Obama vowed to end the practice. Unfortunately, these verbal assurances haven’t materialized, since it is still going on, even if this is officially denied by the Obama White House.

 

This policy amounts to a cover up behind verbal denials, which is extremely dishonest.

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Outlook Afghanistan: Obama Mimics Karzai Strategy of Freeing Taliban
Afghanistan Times, Afghanistan: Gitmo Prisoner Exchange an 'Absurd Act of Deception'
BBC News, U.K.: Taliban's Mullah Omar Celebrates Prisoner-Swap
Afghanistan Times, Afghanistan: Obama Visit 'Annoys and Insults' Afghans
Afghanistan Times, Afghanistan: Karzai is Right - the Taliban are in the Service of U.S.
Asia Times, Hong Kong: Karzai's Curious Counterblast
Die Zeit, Germany: Unwarranted Pessimism Over Leaving Afghanistan
The Nation, Pakistan: U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan: 'Please Don't Wait Until 2014!'
FTD, Germany: The Beginning of the End for the Bundeswehr in Afghanistan
The Nation, Pakistan: U.S.-Afghan-Taliban Talks Must Benefit Pakistan, Not India
Guardian, U.K.: U.S. Suspends Joint Military Operations with Afghan Forces

Telegraph, U.K.: Taliban Hit U.S.- U.K. Afghan Base; 'Miss' Prince Harry

The Independent, U.K.: Obama's Foreign Policy of Reconciliation in 'Tatters'

Frontier Post, Pakistan: Obama's Drone War a PR Disaster for America

Der Spiegel, Germany: President of Dissapointment: How Obama Failed to Deliver

Frontier Post, Pakistan: Panetta Spills Beans: U.S. Handing Afghanistan to India
Thawra Al-Wada, Syria: Middle East Borders to Be Drawn in Arab Blood
Tunis Hebdo, Tunisia: A Method to Bush's Madness?
The Frontier Post: Co-opted U.S. Media Will Always Blame Pakistan
The Frontier Post: Just Say 'Thank You' to Cut in American Aid
The Frontier Post: Letter to A.Q. Khan Resembles CIA Iraq War Forgery
Guardian, U.K.: Pakistani Generals 'Helped Sell Nuclear Secrets'
Guardian, U.K.: Pakistan Hits Back at Mullen Over Journalist's Murder Claim
Dawn, Pakistan: Even if U.S. Nuclear Accusations are True, Pakistan Broke No Law
Asia Times, Hong Kong: America Homes in on al-Qaeda's New Chief
The Nation, Pakistan: CIA Chief Panetta Says Zawahiri Living in Pakistan
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: Obama Withdrawal Plans 'Spell Doom' for Pakistan
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: Karzai Finally Awakens to American Treachery
The Daily Jang, Pakistan: The Beginning of the End of U.S. in Afghanistan?

 

 

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Posted By Worldmeets.US August 13, 2014, 11:09am

 

 

 

 

 

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