[Peace-discuss] Which side are we on?

[C. G. Estabrook]

Afghan Police Kill Anti-NATO Protesters in Zabul Province
Protesters Were Marching Against NATO Night Raid Which Killed Civilians
by Jason Ditz, August 05, 2011

At least four Afghans, including three civilians, were killed today and five 
others were wounded when Afghan police opened fire on demonstrators at an 
anti-NATO march in the Zabul Province.

The march, according to the provincial police chief, was protesting a NATO night 
raid in the Qalad District, which killed at least three civilians. NATO 
confirmed the raid but insisted no civilains were slain.

Night raids have been an increasingly contentious part of NATO’s tactics in the 
decade-long war in Afghanistan, with troops raiding suspected homes which quite 
often turn out to be filled with random civilians. The raids almost always turn 
up a handful of weapons, ubiquitous in a home in war-torn Afghanistan, and all 
the slain, including children, are termed “suspected insurgents.”

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly demanded that NATO stop launching 
night raids as well as ending the practice of launching air strikes in heavily 
populated areas. NATO has declined on both fronts, insisting the UN mandate for 
their occupation does not allow the Karzai government to restrict their killings.