Jason Ditz / AntiWar.com & Ellen Mitchell / The Hill – 2017-04-18 00:52:26
Afghan Ex-President Karzai: Trump Committed an Atrocity With Massive Bombing
Afghan Ex-President Karzai:
Trump Committed an Atrocity With Massive Bombing
Jason Ditz / AntiWar.com
(April 17, 2017) — While the current Afghan government tries to defend the US use of the MOAB “Mother of All Bombs” last week against the Nangarhar Province, former President Hamid Karzai was extremely critical of the action, calling it an “immense atrocity” against fellow human beings.
Karzai complained that the current government was not offering enough comment when the US commits large strikes, saying the use of the largest non-nuclear bomb in history amounted both to a violation of Afghan sovereignty, and inherent disrespect to Afghanistan’s soil and environment.
The MOAB strike was dropped in the Achin District of Nangarhar, above what the US claimed was a substantial tunnel network used by ISIS. Though there is no sign of damage done to the tunnels, and MOAB is not intended to be a penetration bomb, President Trump has heralded it as a “successful event.”
Karzai long had a difficult relationship with the US government because of his willingness to criticize US military operations, particularly those which killed civilians or generally put them at risk. Throughout the Bush and Obama Administrations, there were often discussions of getting rid of Karzai outright, though ultimately he served out his terms in office.
Ex-Afghan President: Trump Committed
‘Atrocity’ with Massive Bomb Strike
Ellen Mitchell / The Hill
(April 17, 2017) — Afghanistan’s previous president said Monday that President Trump “committed an immense atrocity” in allowing the US military to drop one of its most powerful non-nuclear bombs on ISIS tunnels in the country last week.
“My message to President Trump today is that he has committed an immense atrocity against the Afghan people, against fellow human beings,” Hamid Karzai told The Associated Press. “If the American government sees us as human beings, then they have committed a crime against fellow human beings, but if they treat us as less than human beings, well, of course they can do whatever they want,” Karzai added.
The US military on Thursday dropped a Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, known as the “mother of all bombs,” on tunnels used by a network of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Achin district of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
Thursday’s strike marked the first time the munition had been used in combat, and was the most powerful bomb used in Afghanistan to date. The Afghan and US militaries coordinated for the operation, the president of Afghanistan’s office reportedly said.
Karzai previously called the bomb “a violation” of Afghanistan’s “sovereignty,” and “a disrespect to our soil and environment.” Trump, meanwhile, called the operation “another successful event.”
The governor of the Achin province in Afghanistan said that at least 90 ISIS fighters were killed in the attack, and no civilians, according to the BBC.
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