Afghan civilian casualties: A symbol of willful neglect

Generations will 'regret' the day when first missile landed in Afghanistan to get rid of the debauched in Tora Bora, under the banner of US-led 'war on terror', aimed at bringing peace and democracy to a region where hardly any guerrilla war was won by a military power and where most of the brilliant strategies have always ended up in a stretched warfare.

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More than five years after the defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the failure of NATO to make a difference in Afghanistan is now having serious security consequences. The NATO military operations (aerial bombing campaigns in particular) against Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents are resulting in more injury and death of innocent Afghan civilians, provoking anger and frustration among the local populace and concerns among different human rights groups.

The fact has been brought to light time and again, and now the UN Chief Ban Ki-moon, too, has joined the chorus, however belatedly one might think. Ki-moon, speaking to mediapersons, asserted,

One of the important areas which I addressed is the increasing number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. I know that it is extremely difficult, because insurgents and Talibans are trying to hide behind the general population, so it makes it very difficult in the course of military operations to differentiate who are innocent citizens and who are insurgents. But I emphasized strongly, publicly and privately, that they should take necessary measures.

Closer to home, Prez Hamid Karzai has expressed his exasperation more than once.

The volatile nation is going through its bloodiest period since the fall of Taliban and al-Qaeda in 2001, and this is a crunch time for all sides involved in the conflict, before the situation becomes too dire for any retrieval.

Records from the UN and independent organizations show that the number of civilians killed by the NATO forces is more than those killed by Islamic insurgents. According to an Associated Press Report, US-led coalition and NATO forces fighting Islamic militants in Afghanistan have killed over 200 civilians so far this year, surpassing the number of 178 civilians killed in militant attacks.

The New UN chief is essentially picking up the cause of the Afghani populace, whose economic prospects have been marred by the incessant violence waged by the insurgents; first against the Soviets, then the Taliban and now, the Americans.

Even the U.S. and NATO's promise to turn the tide and bring in development has never really materialized. The frustration of people is demonstrated by the fact that a group of Afghans consider the Soviets better than the Americans, as some of the dams that supply electricity to Kabul and a few other places were built by the Soviets, the Americans (in contrast) have hardly made any worthwhile investments in the country.

Failure of alliance that has nowhere been close to tackle the growing Islamic militants, warlords and the booming drugs trade - the greatest threats to stability, is strengthening and spreading this opinion rapidly.

The horrors of Iraq are mirrored in Afghanistan as civilian casualties and harassment increases with no improvement in the basic needs (promised earlier) of the Afghan people such as water, electricity, hospitals and schools.

The 'war on terror' (rather call it the generational war) that seemed honest at the dawn has completely failed to wrap it up in a blissful note, by bringing in democracy and freedom. It has, however, managed to instill a feeling of cold hatred towards the West in the minds of Afghans that will linger on for generations to come.