Afghan War Crimes

This is a dynamite story by Newsweek concerning the ongoing investigation of the mass graves discovered in Afghanistan. It seems they are quite recent, and that the thousands of people there were slaughtered and buried by Northern Alliance warlords (some now entrenched within the Afghan Government) and it’s difficult to see how this could have taken place with US forces’ knowledge or involvement. Of course, news of human rights abuses by US allies during the current phase of the Afghan War is nothing new. I see now why the Pentagon is anxious to get immunity for its forces against war crimes prosecutions by the International Court. It puts those desperate jail riots into perspective: they were fighting for their lives (after all, the CIA operatives there told the Pashtuns to “talk or die”). Newsweek sums it up:

It may not be easy for Americans to summon much sympathy for Taliban or Qaeda prisoners. But the rules of war cannot be applied selectively. There is no real moral justification for the pain and destruction of combat if it is not to defend the rule of law. The line is tough to hold even in a conventional conflict. In a proxy war, it�s much more difficult. The dead at Dasht-e Leili are proof of that.