Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Afghans Demand That U.S. Admit Military Errors
The loya jirga that we have read about in previous articles is set to begin meeting on Thursday, so the security agreement between the American and Afghan governments needs to be finalized very soon. The last aspect of the deal that Afghani President Hamid Karzai wants settled is a reassurance that American forces will reform their counterterrorism raids on private Afghani homes, which many Afghans find threatening and offensive. Karzai has asked for a letter from President Obama admitting that American forces have made mistakes in the past in their handling of these sorts of raids and assuring that efforts will be made to correct such errors in the future. Additionally, Karzai wants raids to be conducted only under "extraordinary circumstances" when American lives are in danger. There has been some resistance to this request in the Obama administration, but we will probably not have to wait very long to see what the final response will be.
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I think it's a little petty and childish for Karzai to demand an apology letter. It will not acomplish anything tangible. It might make him feel better, but we're not in the business of making people happy. Whether the United States needs to apologize for its actions or not, I think the apology letter is worth it if it means that a deal can be finalized. It's just a simple gesture, but the only problem is pride.
ReplyDeleteA letter? Really? Are we 5? I can think of no other reason for a "apology" letter but pure ego. I can understand Karzai wanting to make sure the new agreement is perfectly sound and and protects the Afghan people, but what will this additional letter really prove? That Karzai is super powerful? That Obama will do anything to get this deal cemented? It'll be interesting to see what does come of this, seeing as though the sources used for this article were mot on the same page at all.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think it would be in the United State's best interest to write this apology letter, not only to improve the relations between the United States and Afghanistan, but hopefully to project a better image of the United States, a large country that is able to admit that it makes mistakes. The symbolism behind it is what obviously matters to Karzai, and if it will get the current security negotitions finished, then fine. It really isn't that big of a demand. I think it would be arrogent of the United States to refuse, and instead say "we don't need to apologize. You should be grateful we came in the first place."
ReplyDeleteKarzai is out of control. He needs to realize that his country is crawling with terrorists and we came in and made a dent in that. I am all for hearts and minds and not losing Afghanistan like we lost Iraq. The last thing we need is for Afghanistan to open its doors to terrorists again. But I do not want to risk the safety of American troops in Afghanistan because of the future "red tape" caused by the argument of when it is "extreme circumstances." I think we need the opinions of the American commanders in Afghanistan to see what they think before we start writing apology letters for getting the job done.
ReplyDeleteThe United States cannot bend to the whims of Karzai. Once this occurs, we lose much of our power and influence over the world. While I am all for apologizing for mistakes, Karzai seeks this for power reasons and the world will perceive our apology letter as weakness on behalf of the United States. If we outright rejected that proposal, Karzai would be a fool to not go along with the current negotiations. If he didn’t, then let him run his country when the Taliban returns.
ReplyDeleteThat is a slap in the face to the united states. If Karzai doesn't want our help with terrorist groups such as the Taliban, then fine, we don't need to loose anymore soldiers, and spend anymore money in that mess. Also, I think its humorous that Karzai wants a letter addressing our "mistakes". Sure we have made some bad mistakes in the past, but if we were never there to help I think the death toll would be worse.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Karzai truly understands what this letter would be. Rather than an apology, it would be an explanation of why the United States wants to continue to help efforts against the Taliban. I think that Karzai's request should open up the eyes of President Obama. We are jumping through hoops to help a country that isn't showing much appreciation, and it's kind of a waste of time. Until they ask for help, we shouldn't continue helping them with that attitude.
ReplyDeleteWhat Karzai is asking should never happen. Citizens of his nation terrorized and killed American citizens. We, as a world super power, are doing the world a favor and using aggressive military tactics to rid these terrorists of earth. What Karzai does not understand is that Afghanistan could not survive without the United States. Relating to many romantic-comedies, Karzai will never realize he needed us until he forced us out.
ReplyDeleteThis letter Karzai is asking for is just plain dumb, I really hope he doesn't hold his breath, because I don't see it coming anytime soon. I also think it was unwise for Kerry to go ahead and promise something that Obama would do without consulting him. That just shows the blatant loss of communication that can result in a lot of problems in Washington. But I digress. The true issue here is the tension between Obama, Karzai, and the Loya Jirga. We have done nothing but help them. While the random home searches may be annoying to say the least, we have helped to make that country a safer place. Karzai asking for that letter is just disrespectful.
ReplyDeleteThis is childish. The US is not going to apologize for helping them. Karzai obviously can't see that and is upset, but to ask for an apology letter is taking it too far. Afghanistan would be even less of what it is today without the US intervening, Karzai might have not even been in power;
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Emily Evenden. Karzai has only asked a simple request; writing an apology would be a great step in the right direction. I disagree that this apology will make us look weak at all. If anything, not writing this apology would make the United States look like a bunch of jerks. If we truly did wrong, then we should apologize, easy as that. Sure we are just trying to help them, but we also need to respect the Afghani citizens.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that this is a childish thing for Karzai to do but I also agree with Emily Evenden and Emily Bond. If we were to write the apology it would help us develop a better relationship with Afghanistan, and I also think that the U.S. should work to create better relationships with middle eastern countries seeing as Israel is our only ally in that region of the world. Finally I do not think that an apology would make the U.S. seem weak because as many people have said this is a very childish thing to do and so if we were to just apologize we would come out the bigger person. Also there is nothing good that can come from fighting them and not apologizing, doing so would be like trying to put out fire with gasoline.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Afghani President is wrong in wanting some kind of apology, but I also think it's childish for him to hold up anything waiting for an apology. What's done is done, so none of that can be changed now. He does have the right to be reassured that his people will be protected in the future, as he is the president of his country, and any president that wouldn't want that reassurance is probably not a good man to have in office. I am sure President Obama would want an apology in a similar situation.
ReplyDelete