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  Deaths in Afghanistan: Air Force Report Confirms Rising Civilian Toll

Deaths in Afghanistan Air Force Report Confirms Rising Civilian Toll

By Hans-Jürgen Schlamp

Part 2: Whose Numbers Do You Trust?

The six-page report that General Callan presented to his superiors at the United States Central Command, the regional command unit in Florida responsible for the Afghanistan effort, arrives at a similar conclusion. The claims that "US or Afghan forces killed an estimated 90 civilians" -- thereby violating the laws of war -- "are unfounded," Callan writes.

But then, under "Item 6.a.," the general laconically adds his own conclusion, which differs significantly from the official account. According to Callan, an "estimated 55 people were killed (22 anti-coalition fighters and 33 civilians)" in Azizabad.

The attack was prompted, Callan writes, by "credible information" that 20-30 enemy fighters under the command of a notorious Taliban leader were planning to convene in Azizabad. On the strength of this information, ground troops were sent to Azizabad with orders to "capture/kill" a so-called "High Value Individual." The troops were supported by an AC-130G aircraft outfitted with artillery.

"Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to the US and Afghan forces, the anti-coalition fighters chose to position themselves in the immediate proximity of civilians," Callan writes in his report.

Using the sober, fastidious language of the military, the Air Force general proceeds to examine the horrific details of the incident. Callan notes that he questioned 28 people, analyzed 236 documents and viewed 11 videos. Nevertheless, he writes, he could not answer some questions, such as how many women and children were killed. Of the 33 "civilians presumably killed in the fighting," only "eight men, three women and 12 children could be identified."

The general characterizes the investigations of the Azizabad bombardment by local authorities, various human rights organizations and a UN envoy as "dubious," noting that they were undoubtedly colored by "financial, political and survival-oriented" motives. According to Callan, the official lists of the dead could also be described as "invalid." He notes that these lists lacked an exact foundation because Afghanistan has no birth registry, no current census and no official death certificates.

'Necessary and Appropriate'

This lack of records might have been the reason why US forces did not compensate the surviving family members for their "pain and suffering." That they left up to the Afghan government, which insisted on using its own figures. According to the US report, the Afghan government paid "$2,000 to the family of each of the supposed 90 dead civilians."

The injured were paid $1,000 each and given the chance to undertake the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj. For this purpose, say government officials, the minister of pilgrimages and Islamic affairs distributed 9,300,000 Afghani -- or about €140,000 ($175,000) -- to the village elders.

In the end, Callan concludes that civilians were killed, but no laws were broken. The armed attack was "an act of self-defense, necessary and appropriate," based on the information available at the time to the officer in charge.

While conducting his investigation, the general apparently neglected to interview tribal leader Tor Jan Noorzai. The dignified elderly man, who assisted in the burial of the victims in Azizabad, later told reporters exactly the same thing that the provincial police chief and officials at the Interior Ministry in Kabul had claimed: At the time of the air attacks, there were no Taliban in Azizabad.

On the contrary, Noorzai explained, the gathering -- which the Americans supposedly learned about from a good source -- was a memorial service for a Taliban opponent who had been murdered the previous year.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan