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Afghan Leader Lashes Out At NATO Over Air Strikes

May 31, 2011
By Ron Synovitz

President Hamid Karzai has warned NATO-led forces in Afghanistan that launching attacks on Afghan homes in pursuit of insurgents is "not allowed" and that NATO risks being seen as an "occupying force" if it continues strikes that cause civilian casualties.

Karzai's angry remarks at a press conference in Kabul followed NATO air strikes on a compound in Helmand Province on May 29 that killed at least nine civilians -- most of them children.

The commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in southwestern Afghanistan later apologized for the deaths in Helmand's Nawzad district, saying the strikes on the compound there had been ordered because insurgents were using it as a base.

But many Afghans have been infuriated by graphic footage broadcast on Afghan television that showed grieving relatives holding the bodies of several children, including babies.

Karzai said Afghans' patience with air strikes had run out.

"The Afghan people can no longer tolerate these attacks on their homes and one day the Afghan government will be forced -- if you do not come to an understanding with us based on a negotiated solution to this, that is the prevention of the bombardment of Afghan homes -- the Afghan government will be forced to take unilateral action in this regard," Karzai said.

Karzai, who did not specify what action Kabul might take, appeared particularly irritated about his attempts to discuss the issue with NATO officials today, saying he was told they were not available to meet with him in Kabul until June 5 at the earliest.

"They should, they must stop the bombardment of Afghan homes, and I'll be conveying this once again," adding that when he did meet with NATO officials, "this will be given to them with clearer words with what we have in mind."

Stricter Rules For Strikes

United Nations figures show that at least three-quarters of civilian deaths in Afghanistan are caused by insurgents. But it is those casualties caused by foreign forces that cause the most anger among ordinary Afghans.

That has made civilian casualties from NATO air strikes or "night raids" a major source of friction between Karzai and his Western backers.

Indeed, NATO commanders have significantly tightened the rules of engagement for the use of air strikes and night raids during the past two years amid growing outcry from Afghan leaders.

NATO also says it always has Afghan government coordination and approval before it carries out such strikes.

At the same time, U.S. and NATO commanders have stepped up the use of air strikes and night raids in the past 12 months, arguing they are effective weapons against insurgents who often hide among the Afghan population.

'Behaving Like Occupiers'

At his press conference, Karzai also complained that NATO officials in Afghanistan sometimes behave as if they are occupiers rather than allies with the government in Kabul. Karzai said that if there were another air strike on a civilian's home in the country, Afghanistan had "a lot of ways" of stopping the practice.

"We don't want to go there. We want NATO to stop air raids on its own, without a declaration of an end by the Afghan government because we want to continue to cooperate," Karzai said.

He said the Western alliance must "treat Afghanistan as a sovereign nation. Sometimes we have statements from them that reflects as if they are not aware that they are working in a sovereign nation. We must clearly demonstrate our understanding that Afghanistan is an ally, not an occupied country, and our treatment with NATO is from the point of view of an ally."

Karzai added that if "it turns to the other -- to the behavior of an occupation -- then, of course, the Afghan people know how to deal with that. There can be a lot of unilateral actions."

Jean MacKenzie, a Kabul-based senior correspondent for the online Global Post news service, believes that it's vital that NATO officials heed Karzai's warnings about being seen as occupiers.

MacKenzie notes that Karzai's statement that Afghans "know how to deal" with occupying forces "could be seen as a direct threat. He is really talking about active resistance by the Afghan population at large towards the presence of ISAF. It is a serious statement.

"Of course, Karzai does not have the resources to make this threat. He is almost entirely supported by the international community."

ISAF has made night raids and air strikes a cornerstone of the counterinsurgency strategy put in place by U.S. General David Petraeus when he assumed command in the summer of 2010. NATO has said it cannot function effectively in Afghanistan without night raids and air strikes.

McKenzie says that leaves NATO and the Afghan government at an impasse over the issue of air strikes.

"It is very unclear at this point how NATO will respond and what, if anything, President Karzai can eventually do to back up his threat," he says.

RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan contributed to this report from Kabul

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/karzai_says_that_nato_risks_being_seen_as_an_occupying_force/24210794.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.