US losing battle for hearts and minds with abuses and insensitivity
The Afghan Human Rights Commission has received more than 130 reports of torture and other abuses in the past 18 months, said its deputy chairman, Ahmad Fahim Hakim. Despite numerous requests, its officials have never been allowed in.
"We wrote to Barno [the former US commander] many times. His response was that they already provide access to the Red Cross. But the Red Cross doesn't publish any public reports," he said.
It is not just Afghans. According to other reports, the CIA has secretly flown detainees to Bagram from western countries to circumvent human rights laws.
Although torture may appal Americans, it will shock few Afghans, after 23 years of conflict. "Torture is seen as a usual practice here," said Mr Hakim.
But America desperately needs to avoid being judged by the standard of the Soviet Union or the ruthless mujahideen. In the remotest corners its soldiers are digging wells, roofing schools, vaccinating animals and evacuating the sick. But for many Afghans the quid pro quo - the freedom to hunt militants with disregard for cultural sensitivities - comes at too high a price. In the volatile south-eastern crescent, locals complain of intrusive house searches and arbitrary detention.
There have been improvements. One tribal leader in Khost, near the Pakistan border, told me that US soldiers had switched to a softer approach that was already winning local hearts and minds. But last week's Newsweek riots, which left 17 dead and 100 injured, are an indication of how fragile that goodwill can be. Yesterday's report, with its implied hypocrisy, will strain it further.
"On the one hand American troops want to inculcate us with democratic values; on the other, they are violating them," said Mr Hakim.
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