Tag: afghanistan

Bagram Detainees Treated ‘Worse Than Animals’

An investigation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has revealed that former detainees at the U.S. Bagram airbase in Afghanistan were beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened with dogs. The BBC’s conclusions are based on interviews with 27 former detainees who were held at Bagram between 2002 and 2006. None of these men were ever … Continue reading “Bagram Detainees Treated ‘Worse Than Animals’”

Afghan Air Strike Report Belies ‘Blame Taliban’ Line

The version of the official military investigation into the disastrous May 4 air strike in Farah province made public last week by the Central Command was carefully edited to save the U.S. command in Afghanistan the embarrassment of having to admit that earlier claims blaming the massive civilian deaths on the "Taliban" were fraudulent. By … Continue reading “Afghan Air Strike Report Belies ‘Blame Taliban’ Line”

Now We See You, Now We Don’t

In early June, 2009, I was in the Shah Mansoor displaced persons camp in Pakistan, listening to one resident detail the carnage which had spurred his and his family’s flight there a mere 15 days earlier.  Their city, Mingora, had come under massive aerial bombardment. He recalled harried efforts to bury corpses found on the … Continue reading “Now We See You, Now We Don’t”

McChrystal Looks to Spin Afghan Civilian Deaths Problem

At his confirmation hearings two weeks ago, Gen. Stanley McChrystal said reducing civilian deaths from air strikes in Afghanistan was "strategically decisive" and declared his "willingness to operate in ways that minimize casualties or damage, even when it makes our task more difficult." Some McChrystal supporters hope he will rein in the main source of … Continue reading “McChrystal Looks to Spin Afghan Civilian Deaths Problem”

CIA Secrecy on Drone Attacks Data Hides Abuses

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s refusal to share with other agencies even the most basic data on the bombing attacks by remote-controlled unmanned predator drones in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region, combined with recent revelations that CIA operatives have been paying Pakistanis to identify the targets, suggests that managers of the drone attacks programs have been … Continue reading “CIA Secrecy on Drone Attacks Data Hides Abuses”