After the dramatic statement of President Karzai demanding international troops to withdraw from villages and restrict military operations, his aides were trying to 'explain' it to media yesterday. He also said the transition should be completed by 2013 instead of the 2014 deadline that has been scheduled by the US and NATO.
It was more of a rhetorical statement in response to domestic pressure after the series of unfortunate and tragic incidents involving ISAF troops during the last couple of months including the Quran burning followed by the civilian massacre in Kandahar.
The ISAF response has been unwise and rather outrageous. It is this problem that they are getting Afghanistan wrong still after ten years. There are serious questions about the Panjwai incident. Locals say it was not an individual soldier involved. And now that he has been flown out of the country, without any clear update on ISAF investigation of the incident, things are going to get worse.
How could one soldier go to different villages and kill 16 innocent civilians, without any attempt from other American troops in the outpost to stop him? He goes on a shooting spree, and then burns down the dead bodies, comes back to the camp and then surrenders. No action by other soldiers in the camp. Even if the individual was suffering mental stress or was drunk, how could he go unnoticed by his superiors?
The US officials think a condolence statement from the Ambassador or President Obama would do the job, but more important, though symbolic, is the fact that military officials should have immediately responded to the situation. A delegation of Afghan officials visited the family of those killed. Presence of American officials would have helped much along with the commitment that the US would seriously punish the responsible individual. We hope as Secretary Panetta said earlier, the soldier will get capital punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
On the other hand, we should not forget that even if more than one soldier is involved, and it is not a case of mental problem with the individual, it is a single incident of its kind in the last ten years of presence of foreign troops. Those responsible must be punished and we are hopeful justice will be served.
However, our political and religious leadership, particularly the Karzai Administration and those in parliament who were calling for Jihad after the Quran burning incident, should not be hypocrite. Taliban kill civilians every single day. The other day, 9 women and children were killed in an IED blast in Uruzgan. Yesterday there was a similar attack on civilians in Helmand. Their daily stories of atrocities never get condemned as it should be.
Seeing the series of unfortunate events, and the uncertain direction it is leading the situation, we are strongly fearful of a catastrophe ahead after 2014. The overconfidence shown and without a proper domestic strategy, President Karzai's irresponsible statements have self-destructive implications.