by Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. former Government Agent, Matara

The following news item from The Times On Line tells of one atrocity done by the US Forces in Afghanistan.It is representative of the atrocities that are happening everyday in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Very few of these instances come to light and this is one of them.

From The Times
April 9, 2010

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7092604.ece

US army chief begs Afghans to forgive

Vice-Admiral William McRaven and Afghan officers with Haji Sharabuddin Jerome Starkey, Khataba, Gardez
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A top US special forces commander visited a family in rural Afghanistan yesterday to plead for forgiveness after finally admitting that his troops killed five innocent people in a botched raid, which, Afghan officials said, the soldiers then tried to cover up.

Vice-Admiral William H. McRaven went to Paktia in eastern Afghanistan to the home of family head, Haji Sharabuddin, whose two sons were among those shot dead, and offered to enact the tribal ritual nanawate, in which a sheep is sacrificed at the door.

Two pregnant women, a teenage girl, and Haji SharabuddinƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s sons ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ a policeman and a district prosecutor ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ were shot dead on February 12 when unidentified raiders stormed their home after an all-night family party to celebrate a newborn child.

Nato had claimed that the force discovered the womenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s bodies ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-tied up, gagged and killedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ but later retracted those claims after a Times investigation proved them to be false. Afghan investigators have since accused US troops of digging their bullets out of the bodies and then lying to their superiors but Nato denies a cover-up. Admiral McRaven, commander of AmericaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Joint Special Operations Command based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, told survivors yesterday that the deaths were a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terrible mistakeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.

These days the United Nations is gunning to destabilize Sri Lanka. The Superpowers too are trying their level best. Recently Ban Ki Moon the United NationsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Secretary General is appointing a panel of experts to look into abuses done by Sri Lanka in the war against the terrorist LKTTE. .I have had the opportunity to work with our Sri Lankan forces day in and day out during the 1971 insurgency and can vouch for the regard they had for humanity in the attempt to restore law and order in the face of the insurrection. It needs to be said that the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka have never done this type of atrocity. If anyone dares to bring our armed forces or our respected leaders to the scaffold they can be certain that we have within us researchers who will also bring them to the scaffold.

Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. Michigan State University

Author of: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka ………… , Godages, 2006 Success in Development- soon to be released by Godages 9 th April 2010