Catch-and-release of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan angers troops

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

More than 500 suspected Taliban fighters detained by U.S. forces have been released from custody at the urging of Afghan government officials, angering both American troops and some Afghans who oppose the policy on the grounds that many of those released return to the battlefield to kill NATO soldiers and Afghan civilians.

And those numbers understate the problem, military officials say. They do not include suspected Taliban fighters held in small combat outposts or other forward operating bases throughout the region who are released before they ever become part of the official detainee population.

An Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that President Hamid Karzai's government has personally sought the release of as many as 700 suspected Taliban fighters since July, including some mid-level leaders. "Corruption is not just based on the amount of money that is wasted but wasted lives when Taliban return only to kill more NATO forces and civilians," said the official, who opposes what he considers corruption in the Karzai administration.


Read more at the Washington Examiner: Catch-and-release of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan angers troops | Washington Examiner

I read stories like this and it makes me wonder why anyone in their right mind would want to join the military these days. This goes beyond absurd. We are propping up this corrupt government in Afghanistan only to have them put our own soldiers in danger. Where has all of the common sense gone?

 

[waltky]

The child soldiers of today are the suicide bombers of tomorrow...

‘Baby fighters’ on frontline of conflict in Afghanistan
Wed, Feb 09, 2011 - Childhood innocence is soon lost in a country like Afghanistan. However, children have not only been the victims of the war but also its perpetrators — on both sides.

Youngsters are frequently used by the Taliban to carry out brutal attacks, according to the military and officials, with some apparently kidnapped or paid to join the war. Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security says more than 80 percent of the 112 would-be suicide bombers detained in the country in the past nine months were boys aged between 13 and 17. It is not only Taliban rebels who use children on the frontline — there are also teenagers in the Afghan police, although the government has just signed a pledge with the UN to stamp this out.

Among insurgents, the problem is on stark display in Kandahar Province, close to Pakistan’s border region, where many Taliban leaders are thought to be based. “In the firefight we have here, we can see the enemy. They’re kids, like 15, 16 years old. And usually there’s a 20-year-old who pays the kids,” said US Army Captain Mike Cain of 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment. Cain added that the situation was “very hard for morale.” “It’s just dumb, ignorant people doing it for money,” he said.

Another international military officer, based in Kabul and speaking on condition of anonymity, said that foreign troops had little choice but to kill those targeting them, regardless of their age. “They are baby fighters. But what else can we do? They attack us and shoot at us with their AK47s and their RPGs [rocket propelled grenades] and if we don’t kill them, they’ll kill us,” he said. A UN report last year highlighted how children as young as 13 had been trained to carry out suicide attacks and plant explosives by the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

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[Cain]

Really depressing news. I hope when if I get to over there it isn't the same, but I doubt it'll change.

 

[daveman]

Simple solution:

Kill them on the battlefield.

 

[zzzz]

Simple solution? Get out!!!

 

[Cain]

Simple solution:

Kill them on the battlefield.

, politicians might realize that is why they issue soldiers guns! lol sorry had to do.

 

[Colin]

We are no longer serving any useful purpose staying in Afghanistan. Not with Karzai and his henchman running the country. They are part of the problem, not the solution. Mr Karzai really does bring meaning to the acronym for 'the war against terror'...TWAT.

 

[daveman]

Simple solution:

Kill them on the battlefield.

, politicians might realize that is why they issue soldiers guns! lol sorry had to do.

That's what they pay the military for.

 

[Cain]

Simple solution:

Kill them on the battlefield.

, politicians might realize that is why they issue soldiers guns! lol sorry had to do.

That's what they pay the military for.

lol yea, just being sarcastic on how politicians look at the military, in my opinion. I really hope I get to go to Afghanistan a few times, although I'd prefer a place where it doesn't get hot (at least from what I know, I think it gets hot).

 

[daveman]

, politicians might realize that is why they issue soldiers guns! lol sorry had to do.

That's what they pay the military for.

lol yea, just being sarcastic on how politicians look at the military, in my opinion. I really hope I get to go to Afghanistan a few times, although I'd prefer a place where it doesn't get hot (at least from what I know, I think it gets hot).

Politicians don't have a firm grip on reality, for the most part.

Afghanistan gets hot. It also gets very cold in the winter. But that's when the Taliban lay low in their caves.

 

[Cain]

That's what they pay the military for.

lol yea, just being sarcastic on how politicians look at the military, in my opinion. I really hope I get to go to Afghanistan a few times, although I'd prefer a place where it doesn't get hot (at least from what I know, I think it gets hot).

Politicians don't have a firm grip on reality, for the most part.

Afghanistan gets hot. It also gets very cold in the winter. But that's when the Taliban lay low in their caves.

Yea, I hope I get to stay in the cold months, I just love cold weather. I grew up in Tennessee working in tobbaco fields during summer, hate hot weather ever since.

 

[Toome]

Kinda reminds me about when the Sergeant was training us on the 20mm Vulcan Gatling Gun (all those years go). He said, "According to our agreements with NATO, this twenty mike-mike can only be used to destroy enemy equipment. Well, men, I remind you that belt buckles are equipment."