CHINAR, Afghanistan, 16 March 2007 — The American Colonel bowed his head at the fresh dirt graves of three young boys marked by brightly colored martyrs’ flags. Then he sat down next to the boys’ fathers, expressed his condolences and handed them an envelope full of cash.
Lt. Col. Brian Mennes, commander of a paratrooper regiment in the 82nd Airborne Division, said his visit Wednesday to a simple mud-brick home was a sign of respect and an attempt to mend relations after the boys were mistakenly killed during the latest NATO offensive.
“I doubt many countries in the world, particularly that have been fighting here, go to these lengths to show the people we’re sorry when bad things happen, even in very complex situations when you have the enemy fighting among the people,” he said. “I doubt the Soviets did this,” he added, referring to fighting during the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The display of sorrow — and compensation — was part of a campaign to calm Afghan anger over civilian deaths. While the US made payments after a military truck crash last May set off rioting in Kabul, such restitution for deaths of civilians from combat is rarely publicized.
The three youngsters were killed by an airstrike Saturday. Mennes said his unit, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, launched an attack after intelligence indicated Taleban fighters had gathered. Civilian deaths have been a growing problem during the US and NATO fight against a resurgent Taleban. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly pleaded with Western forces to avoid harming innocent Afghans, fearing deaths will turn people against the international effort and breed vengeance among aggrieved tribal families.
An Associated Press tally indicates the deaths of about 40 civilians this year could be attributed to NATO or US action, based on figures from military and Afghan officials. That is out of a total of 83 civilian deaths from combat counted by AP. AP counted at least 95 Afghan civilians killed during assaults by NATO and the US-led coalition in 2006. It tallied 512 total civilian combat deaths for the year.
Earlier this month, Afghan witnesses and officials said US military action may have killed up to 19 civilians in one day — up to 10 shot by Marines after being attacked by a suicide bomber March 5 and nine killed in an airstrike when Taleban fighters took refuge in a home. US commanders say Taleban fighters often attack American troops and then hide in civilian homes, putting women and children in harm’s way as they try to escape retaliation, or even to cause the deaths of innocent people as a way to kindle anger against foreign troops.
