Abstract
This chapter explores the impact of U.S.-led kill-or-capture missions, or night raids, on the civilian population in Afghanistan. The first section examines how the criteria used by the U.S. military for determining targets of raids led to attacks against civilians (e.g., individuals who frequently communicated with insurgents; civilians providing food and shelter to insurgents; civilians suspected of possessing information on insurgents). The second and third section examine other factors that led to raids targeting civilian homes, for example, reliance on faulty intelligence, mistakes in locating the targeted houses, and excessively subjective interpretations of “hostile acts” and “hostile intent.” The fourth section shows how the too-broad target selection criteria and the vague definition of “hostile intent” led to indiscriminate attacks against civilians.
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Notes
- 1.
For a detailed analysis of this criterion see also Chapter 2.
- 2.
The description of the attack on the compound of the Kashkaki family is based on the report by AI (2014, 31–35).
- 3.
The entire description of the night raid in Surkhrod is based on the report by Rubin (2011).
- 4.
- 5.
The entire description of the night raid in Ali Daya is based on the report by Kelly and Pearson (2010).
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Badalič, V. (2019). Death Comes at Night: Civilian Victims in U.S. Kill-or-Capture Missions in Afghanistan. In: The War Against Civilians. Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12406-9_3
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