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U.S. CONDEMNED IN AFGHANISTAN
Contributed by
steeleyes
on
Monday, 8th March 2004 @ 05:19:56 AM in AEST
Topic:
political
|
O/
US condemned for Afghan 'abuses'
BBC - Monday, 8 March, 2004, 02:40 GMT
The actions of US military and intelligence units in Afghanistan have been heavily criticised in a new report by an international human rights group.
'US-based Human Rights Watch accuses US personnel of using excessive force, carrying out arbitrary detentions and mistreating people in custody.
But the human rights body says many US actions violate international law.
The report is damming. Entitled Enduring Freedom - Abuses by US Forces in Afghanistan, it focuses on the American system of detaining people at bases across the country, which it describes as 'almost entirely outside the rule of law'.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 1,000 Afghans and other nationals have been taken into custody since 2002.
These arrests have often been accompanied by excessive or indiscriminate force, it says, leading to death and injury to innocent civilians.
Helicopter gunships have been used to fire on residential areas, when US troops were facing no opposition.
Once in custody in places like Bagram airbase north of Kabul, mistreatment is common, the human rights group says - detainees are frequently subjected to sleep deprivation, extremes of temperature and in some cases beatings.
Two people have died in US detention in Afghanistan, and both cases have been ruled as homicide.
'Double standards'
The group points out that the US government has condemned as torture in other countries many of the methods its forces have allegedly employed in Afghanistan when interrogating detainees.
Such behaviour, it concludes, sends a message that 'the US operates on a set of double standards', which also undermines support for its war on terror.
O/
Don’t believe any lies
The above IS the truth
A brutal army regime
Composed of your youth
Soldiers who obey
This illegal command
Destroying all faith
In Afghanistan
Don’t believe the patriotic myth
Or any of that hype
Your government is corrupt
And have a coward’s stripe
This is the so-called freedom
They bring to that land
Freedom for troops to abuse and murder
And blast civilians as they stand
To go in all guns blazing
On innocents unarmed
To use torture and torment
All trust in us is harmed
An arrogant force
From an arrogant state
They say they love freedom
But they bring only HATE
O/
Copyright ©
steeleyes
... [
2004-03-08 05:19:56]
(Date/Time posted on
site)
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Re: U.S. CONDEMNED IN AFGHANISTAN
(User Rating: 1 )
by outdoorsman on
Monday, 8th March 2004 @ 06:21:13 AM AEST
(User
Info | Send
a Message)
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| I appreciate your poem and I feel that it was written from your heart. The only thing is that I think that you are misinformed if you believe that soldiers should not be considered hero's. There is no doubt that some of them are corrupt, some of all of us are corrupt. The bottom line is that these soldiers volunteer their lives to protect us. They feel it is their duty. They should be praised and the lesson should have been learned from Vietanam. The government on the other hand is corrupt, don't condemn the soldier's, or those who respect them though. |
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Re: U.S. CONDEMNED IN AFGHANISTAN
(User Rating: 0 )
by Former_Member on
Monday, 8th March 2004 @ 09:40:47 AM AEST
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| There isnt one government on earth that isnt corrupt but you seem to concentrate only on the US. How does the Afgan gov. treat it's prisoners? How did the Iraqi's? Dont the Suadi's still behead enemies of the state? How about China? Korea?? I agree with some of the points you make but at times it just seems like you only see the evil in us and overlook it in every other country. Your words would have much more impact if you, every so often, wrote about the wrongs of other governments too . |
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