“More than 3,700 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan directly from U.S. bombs since Oct. 7.” “The U.S. military has hit electrical and telephone facilities, news outlets, fuel supplies, hospitals, religious schools and mosques.”…”The collapse of the Taliban was expected to ease
the food crisis. But instead, a deadly lawlessness is continuing to block life-saving aid from reaching millions of destitute civilians.” “There is something wrong when our government can pressure Afghanistan and its neighbors to permit the establishment of major new U.S. military bases
but not the free passage of humanitarian aid to save the lives of starving civilians.”
New Report on Civilian Death Toll
MARC HEROLD
http://www.media-alliance.org/mediafile/20-5/index.html
Herold, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, is the author of the just-released report “A Dossier on Civilian Victims of United States’ Aerial Bombing of Afghanistan: A Comprehensive
Accounting.” He said today:
“More than 3,700 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan directly from U.S. bombs since Oct. 7.
“For example, on Oct. 11, two U.S. jets bombed the mountain village of Karam, comprised of 60 mud houses, during dinner and evening prayer
time, killing 100 to 160 people.
“On Dec. 1, as part of the intense bombing campaign of Tora Bora, B-52s bombed the villages Kama Ado and Khan-e-Mairjuddin, killing at least 100 people in each village, yet the Pentagon that night claimed ‘It just did not happen.’”
Herold added: “The U.S. military has hit electrical and telephone facilities, news outlets, fuel supplies, hospitals, religious schools and
mosques.”
Food Aid: “Time is Running Out…”
SARAH ZAIDI
szaidi@cesr.org
http://www.cesr.org
ROGER NORMAND
rnormand@cesr.org
http://www.cesr.org
Zaidi, who recently returned from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, is research director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights. She said
today:
“Time is running out for thousands of civilians facing starvation due to violations of the right to food by all parties to the Afghanistan conflict.
The collapse of the Taliban was expected to ease the food crisis. But instead, a deadly combination of lawlessness among Northern Alliance
factions and closed borders by neighboring states is continuing to block life-saving aid from reaching millions of destitute civilians.”
Normand, CESR’s executive director, said today:
“The United States has the means to prevent the impending catastrophe but refuses to act forcefully on the crisis.
There is something wrong when our government can pressure Afghanistan and its neighbors to permit the establishment of major new U.S. military bases but not the free passage of humanitarian aid to save the lives of starving
civilians.”
DEBORAH JAMES
deborah@globalexchange.org
http://www.peacewomen.org
MEDEA BENJAMIN
medea@globalexchange.org
http://www.globalexchange.org
A member of a Global Exchange women’s delegation that has just returned from Afghanistan, James said today:
“As an American in Afghanistan, I was wholly unprepared for the level of poverty and desperation I witnessed among Afghan refugees.
Many Afghans urge the immediate deployment of UN peacekeepers, but the U.S. government is still hindering such attempts. Crucially, women must be
incorporated into the new government.”
Benjamin, founding director of Global Exchange, was on the same delegation with her daughter Arlen. Benjamin said today:
“The U.S. bombing campaign, while helping to defeat the oppressive Taliban regime, has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in two ways.
First, hundreds of thousands of people, terrified by the bombs, have fled their villages and swelled the ranks of the refugee population.
Second … after the bombing began, humanitarian agencies pulled staff from the country and closed or severely curtailed their operations.”
For more information, contact the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini 202.347.0020
David Zupan 541.484.9167
[ also see related items:
Behind
the Jargon Lie Thousands of Dead –
http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1581
War
on Terror: False Victory –
http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1563
Channel 4 News Special Reports: Oil Rush –
http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1537
US ‘Planned Attack on Taleban’ –
http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1528
The Oil Behind Bush and Son’s Campaigns –
http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1513
Author: Institute for Public Accuracy
News Service: IPA – December 12, 2001
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