Quilty at intercept: empires make dead kids
"the madrassa, or religious school, where more than two dozen boys between the ages of 9 and 18 slept on the floors ... A second soldier entered, chose the two tallest boys, and led them out the door ... the others squeezed together as far from the door as they could ... Many were in tears; others couldn’t speak"
“there were many guns.”
“We didn’t hear anything after this. Everyone was silent.”
"12 more boys, their bodies mauled by bullets, lay crumpled on the floor."
"a string of massacres, executions, mutilation, forced disappearances, attacks on medical facilities, and airstrikes targeting structures known to house civilians. The victims, according to these residents, were rarely Taliban. "
"American CIA advisers go by pseudonyms or call signs rather than names. They not only train Afghan unit members, but also choose their targets ... issue detailed pre-mission briefings ... accompany Afghan paramilitaries on the ground during raids. The Afghans and Americans are ferried to remote villages at night by American helicopters, and American assault aircraft hover overhead while they conduct their raids, providing lethal firepower ... "
"four separate raids on madrassas that killed 33 religious students."
"the schools mainly house children whose youth, poverty, and physical distance from their families leave them especially vulnerable."
"The prevalence of boys among those killed in Wardak indicates that 01 was trying to eliminate not only existing enemies, but potential future foes as well. "
" “The more they terrorize, the more our numbers increase,” "Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told The Intercept.
"After years of hearing the sound of warplanes, residents like Abdullah can also distinguish between the sounds of attack helicopters and Chinooks (which are used for transport), jets, drones (known as “bangana,” or mosquito), and the much-feared AC-130, which locals call “jaaz.” "
“All our dreams went upside down,”
"More than 70 percent of Wardak’s labor force works in agriculture, and only a quarter of girls and women over the age of 14 can read and write. For many parents, sending their sons to a madrassa, where boarding and tuition are free, is more pragmatic than ideological."
“Now, even the common people are being targeted.”
"Taliban, for the most part, stay out of residents’ day-to-day lives ... interactions with Taliban fighters occur when the insurgents come looking for temporary accommodation or food ... people “don’t have any option,” said Amir Mohammad Malikzai, the governor of Wardak’s Sayedabad District. "
"officials often view acquiescence to the Taliban’s presence in villages as tacit support and treat those who comply with the fighters’ demands as legitimate targets ... a mentality that these people [living in Taliban-controlled areas] are the enemy "
"residents’ loathing for a central government they see as corrupt and having failed to serve their needs, and from animosity toward its security forces."
"If you kill a Talib [in Wardak], you kill a Wardaki."
"The boys’ shoes were old and barely held together with glue ... that morning, they’d asked their father to bring them new shoes from Kabul ... He promised them he would."
"Boys came from across Nerkh that morning. 12-year-old Malik Urfan came from Tokarak on his bicycle; 12-year-old Safi, carrying his bedding for the week, traveled in a shared taxi with his cousin Jalal from Pirdad — as madrassa students, they didn’t have to pay; Kamran, also 12, cut across fields on foot for an hour from Suliman Khwar; and brothers Arman and Rafi, 12 and 9, walked together from nearby Kosai. "
"took the elder students, stood them against the wall, and opened fire in front of our eyes."
"Their father, Mahmoud ... On his way out of Kabul, he stopped at a bazaar and bought two pairs of children’s shoes. "
"In accordance with Islamic custom for martyrs killed in war, they were buried unwashed, wearing the clothes in which they had been executed."
“They are in our country and attacking us. … I will take revenge for my brothers and all the other innocents killed.”
“I knew those boys’ activities. They were children.”
"Throughout the snowy winter after his sons’ death, he refused to wear shoes because he’d failed to provide them for his boys."
"Whenever he sees police or Afghan soldiers, he attacks them with whatever weapon is within reach. He has been beaten several times for his trouble. But his greatest fury is reserved for Americans. “If I take revenge,” he says, “if I kill at least two or three of them, the fire in my heart will end.” "
Read the whole thing, if you have the stomach:
https://theintercept.com/2020/12/18/afghanistan-cia-militia-01-strike-force/sidd