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| Afghanistan |
| Afghanistan near deal on night raids |
| 2012-04-04 |
| US and Afghan officials are close to a deal to change the way night raids are conducted in Afghanistan, giving Afghan security forces the lead role and providing judicial oversight of a practice hated by Afghans but seen as effective by American forces, a US defence official has said. The deal is expected to help clear the way for a broader strategic partnership agreement that will govern the US presence in Afghanistan once Afghan forces take full responsibility for security by the end of 2014. There was general acceptance on both sides that Afghans should take the lead role in any night raids and that there should be some form of warrant system to give Afghans judicial oversight of the process. But some differences remain over issues related to the detention of people for interrogation, the official said. Afghanistan's constitution requires a judge to approve house searches by security forces. US officials have described the night raids as an unpopular but extremely effective tactic against Taliban militants and their allies. Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told a news conference the United States and Afghanistan were "making progress and heading toward an agreement on this and a broad range of other issues." "This has been a concern of the Afghan government for some time. We recognize that. We recognize the effectiveness, as well, that the night operations have had over time. And that's why we're working through an agreement with our Afghan partners," Little said. He noted about half of night operations currently are led by Afghan security forces and that most take place without a shot being fired. But he said it was important to reach a written understanding on how operations should be handled in the future. "This will be, at the end of the day, something that they're responsible for ... as part of the transition process. And codifying that, we think, could benefit Afghanistan, the United States and our coalition partners," Little said. "It makes sense." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 I grow so weary of this nonsense. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2012-04-04 11:22 |
| #4 What about night "letters" ? |
| Posted by: newc 2012-04-04 02:01 |
| #3 USN, that were Rogers Rangers by GOD.RLTW |
| Posted by: newc 2012-04-04 01:59 |
| #2 He noted about half of night operations currently are led by Afghan security forces and that most take place without a shot being fired. The other "half" (where no one one knows ISAF forces are coming) are highly successful! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-04-04 01:13 |
| #1 Great, just great. reading that first sentence reminded me of that old Bill Cosby schtick about the Redcoats and the Colonists in the War of Independence: " The settlers can shoot from behind rocks and trees and ever'whar and the British gotta wear red and march ina straight line..." |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2012-04-04 01:01 |