2007 Shinwar shooting

Coordinates: 34°15′N 70°30′E / 34.25°N 70.5°E / 34.25; 70.5 The 2007 Shinwar shooting, also known as the Shinwar massacre,[1] was the killing of a number of Afghan people on 4 March 2007, in the village of Spinpul,[2] in the Shinwar District of the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. United States Marines, fleeing the scene of a car bomb attack and ambush by Afghan militants, fired on people and vehicles surrounding them, according to initial reports killing as many as 19 civilians and injuring around 50 more.[3] The exact casualty figures have not been firmly established.[4]

The United States Marine Corps conducted an internal inquiry from January 2008. In May that year it exonerated the Marine Corps unit, determining that it had acted "appropriately and in accordance with the rules of engagement".[5] The report was condemned by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission,[6] and by the United Nations mission in Afghanistan.[7] Further revelations in 2010 led employees of Amnesty International and the International Bar Association to assert that there was prima facie, or superficial evidence that international humanitarian law had been violated, but could not speculate further without knowing the details of the inquiry.[8]

Sequence of events

On 4 March 2007, Haji Ihsanullah, a member of Hezb-e Islami Khalis (or the Tora Bora Military Front, depending on source),[9][10] drove a minivan laden with explosives into one of the vehicles making up a US military convoy, which included either three[11] or six[12] humvees. A US Marine was injured.[13] Sources differ on whether or not hidden gunmen then also opened fire on the convoy.[14] The US Marines fled the area,[11] firing on some vehicles for between 6 and 16 miles[15] while driving along the Afghan street.[16]

According to several witnesses and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, the US Marines' response to the car bombing included indiscriminate firing at passing civilians on the busy highway. They asserted that elderly men, women and children were killed.[17] Akhtyar Gul, a local reporter who witnessed the shooting, claimed that the Marines sprayed civilians with machine gun fire even though the Marines were not under attack.[17] These assertions would be disputed during the subsequent US Marine Corps court of inquiry.[18]

According to Associated Press and Afghan journalists, US troops confiscated photos and videos of the incident and its aftermath.[19][20] A freelance photographer working for the Associated Press claimed that two Marines and a translator asked him: "Why are you taking pictures? You don't have permission."[5] Another photographer claimed that he had been told by US troops, through an interpreter: "Delete them [your photos], or we will delete you."[5]

Afghan response

The killings were followed by widespread protests across Afghanistan and drew sharp criticism from President Hamid Karzai.[4] The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission's report asserted that: "In failing to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets, the US Marine Corps Special Forces employed indiscriminate force. Their actions thus constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian standards."[21]

Aftermath

Major General Frank Kearney, head of the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), ordered the entire 120-member unit out of Afghanistan pending an investigation into the incident, and announced that there was no evidence supporting the Marines' story that they had come under fire.[12][22] The unit's commander and senior officer were relieved of their duties on 3 April 2007 and reassigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.[23] Kearney's order to have the unit depart Afghanistan was later found by the Department of Defense's Inspector General to be within his authority, and reasonable.[24] Compensation payments of $2,000 each were paid to the families of those killed or wounded;[25][26] overall more than fifty Afghans received compensation payments.[27]

Investigation and inquiry

The shooting came under investigation by both Afghanistan[28] and the United States. On 12 April 2007, an initial investigation headed by a United States Air Force colonel was conducted, endorsed by a United States Army general.[29] It determined that the Marines used "excessive force when they killed civilians after a suicide bombing", and referred the case to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for a criminal inquiry;[30] the investigation occurred two months after the shootings, with investigators only able to study the site of the shooting for an hour.[31] The The New York Times of 20 April 2007 included an article asserting that the shooting was similar to the Haditha killings.[32]

The Pentagon issued a formal apology for the incident on 7 May 2007.[33] "This was a terrible, terrible mistake," said US Army Colonel John Nicholson, "and my nation grieves with you for your loss and suffering. We humbly and respectfully ask for your forgiveness."[33] Nicholson commanded Task Force Spartan, whose area of operation as defined by ISAF Regional Command East included the area of the shooting.[33][18] This was dismissed as premature by General James T. Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, who said: "I would just as soon that no one ... apologize or talk about 'terrible, terrible mistakes'."[34]

James Mattis, then a Marine Corps lieutenant general, ordered a court of inquiry to be held.[35] The court at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina formally investigated the incident in January 2008, hearing from more than 50 witnesses, including Afghans, over 17 days. Much of the testimony was characterized as "vague and contradictory".[36] The four Marines who had fired their weapons did not testify—according to Declan Walsh, writing in The Guardian of London, "because they had not been granted immunity from prosecution".[5]

During the court of inquiry, Colonel Nicholson stated the Marines did not coordinate their operations with his command when conducting operations, and that the Marines' failure to remain at the scene of the attack amounted to failing to "preserve evidence", according to David Zucchino of the Los Angeles Times.[18] Marines who had been present testified that they had been forced to leave the scene by a "complex ambush".[18] One Marine testified that not all Marines in the convoy returned fire against those ambushing the convoy—return fire, he said, was limited to some gunners. This Marine elaborated that the gunners were ordered to cease fire some minutes later by a Marine captain.[37] Testimony by Afghans, including an Afghan police lieutenant colonel, and a 1980s mujahideen commander, contradicted the testimony of the Marines.[38] Nicholson testified that thirty minutes after US Marines left the area, other US troops arrived at the location of the minivan attack and found no dead or wounded Afghans—he speculated that this might be because Afghans bury their dead extremely quickly in line with Islamic tradition.[18]

According to one of the Marines' defence lawyers, Mark Waple, an investigation by the US Navy estimated that the number of people killed was between five and seven, all adult men; Waple continued that despite the prior claims of massacred women and children, witness statements attested only to a wounded 16-year-old boy and a woman with an injured hand.[39] In May 2008 the court of inquiry "exonerated the Marines", according to Walsh, concluding that they had "acted appropriately and in accordance with the rules of engagement and tactics, techniques and procedures in place at the time in response to a complex attack."[36]

Testimony to the inquiry was classified and not released,[36] and the 12,000-page report was also unpublished.[5] In March 2015, excerpts of the "key conclusions" were published in the Military Times.[40] No criminal charges were brought, although "some officers" did receive an "administrative reprimand".[5] The court of inquiry recommended judicial and or administrative actions be taken upon two Marine captains and two enlisted Marines.[41] The verdict infuriated the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.[6] Kubra Aman, a member of the Afghan House of Elders from Nangarhar, said "I am very angry. This is too much."[7] The decision was also criticised by the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, whose spokesperson Aleem Siddique said "It is disappointing that no one has been held accountable for these deaths".[7] The two Marine captains were later "cleared of wrongdoing", according to the Marine Corps Times.[42] More than a year after the court of inquiry concluded, Marines involved received Combat Action Ribbons, and an injured turret gunner was awarded the Purple Heart.[40]

In 2010, Mark Ellis of the International Bar Association told Channel 4 News of the UK that that based on documents released by Wikileaks, "there is prima facie evidence from the military log that suggests the troops could be investigated for war crimes" but that legal hurdles would probably prevent a hearing before the International Criminal Court (ICC).[8] Sam Zafiri of Amnesty International took a similar line, saying that "There is certainly prima facie evidence of violations of international humanitarian law ... It's not so much about whether an investigation into what happened at Jalalabad is re-opened, but rather publish what the US military did investigate, who they talked to, what were the results and how did they arrive at the decision they came to."[8]

In March 2015, the Military Times published a series of articles about the incident, written by Andrew deGrandpre. Fred Galvin, who commanded the Marine unit at the time of the incident, said that despite being cleared by the court of inquiry, he and his men thought that their side of the story had not been properly publicised, and that they still felt they were stigmatised as a result of the accusations.[43]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Prince, Stephen (13 August 2013). Firestorm: American Film in the Age of Terrorism. Columbia University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0231148702. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
    South Asia Defence and Strategic Year Book. Panchsheel. 2009. p. 254. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
    Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (8 October 2010). Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars, The: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts. ABC-CLIO. p. 1368. ISBN 9781851099481.
    Danes, Kay (2010). Beneath the Pale Blue Burqa: One Woman's Journey Through Taliban Strongholds. Big Sky Publishing. p. 110. ISBN 978-0980658286. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Carlotta Gall (8 April 2014). The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan, 2001–2014. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-544-04568-2. The thirty-man platoon was hit by a suicide car bomb in the midst of heavy traffic at a village called Spinpul.
  3. ↑ Talton, Trista; Naylor, Sean D. (15 February 2008). "The story of ‘Task Force Violence'". Marine Times. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 Tyson, Ann Scott (23 March 2007). "Marine Unit Is Told To Leave Afghanistan". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walsh, Declan (26 July 2010). "Afghanistan war logs: How US marines sanitised record of bloodbath". The Guardian (London). Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  6. 1 2 Michael Haas (2009). George W. Bush, War Criminal?: The Bush Administration's Liability for 269 War Crimes. ABC-CLIO. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-313-36499-0. Investigation began in early 2008 for those involved in the Shinwar massacre. Six Marines were granted immunity to testify. Their testimony served to exonerate those not granted immunity, thereby infuriating Afghanistan's human rights commission.
  7. 1 2 3 "Many Afghans outraged at US decision on Marines". NewsOK. Associated Press. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Jepson, Kris (27 July 2010). "Afghan shootings raise war crimes question". Channel 4 (London). Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Wounded Afghans say U.S. forces fired on civilians after suicide bomb". USA Today (United States). Associated Press. 4 March 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  10. ↑ World Almanac of Islamism 2011. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 827. ISBN 978-1-4422-0714-1.
  11. 1 2 Faiez, Rahim (3 May 2007). "U.S. forces flee Afghan ambush firing wildly". Current-Argus. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  12. 1 2 Iqbal, Anwar (16 April 2007) "Marines killed civilians in Afghanistan: report", Dawn.com
  13. ↑ "U.S. investigating reports of Afghan civilians killed by its military forces ", AlaskaReport, 5 March 2007
  14. ↑ "US Seizes Afghan Shooting Footage", Al Jazeera English, 6 March 2007
  15. ↑ Bright, Arthur (16 April 2007) "Pentagon inquiry finds US Marine unit killed Afghan civilians. Csmonitor, 16 April 2007
  16. ↑ "US Revises Downward Number of Civilians Killed in Afghan Convoy Attack". VOA News. Archived from the original on 2007-03-06. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  17. 1 2 Baxter, Sarah (15 April 2007). "US troops accused of killing civilians". The Sunday Times (London). Retrieved 17 April 2007.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Zucchino, David (24 January 2008). "Army colonel again criticizes Marine unit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
    Talton, Trista; Naylor, Sean D. (15 February 2008). "The story of ‘Task Force Violence'". Marine Corps Times. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  19. ↑ "US 'excessive' in Afghan attack". BBC News. 15 April 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  20. ↑ "US 'erased Afghan attack footage'". BBC News. 5 March 2007. Archived from the original on 15 March 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  21. ↑ Gall, Carlotta (15 April 2007). "Marines Accused in Afghanistan Slayings". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2007.
  22. ↑ Kevin Baker (2011). War in Afghanistan. Rosenberg Publishing Pty, Limited. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-921719-39-4.
  23. ↑ "Probe: Spec ops Marines used excessive force – Navy News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports – Navy Times". Navytimes.com. 11 April 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  24. ↑ "H07L105376221" (PDF). Office of Inspector General. United States Department of Defense. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
    "Probe backs commander who removed Marine unit". WHEC (Rochester, New York). Associated Press. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  25. ↑ Rights group assails U.S. marines in killings of Afghans – International Herald Tribune Archived 15 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  26. ↑ Cloud, David S. (9 May 2007). "U.S. Pays and Apologizes to Kin of Afghans Killed by Marines". New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015. In a videoconference to reporters at the Pentagon, he added, "We made official apologies on the part of the U.S. government" and paid $2,000 for each death.
  27. ↑ Talton, Trista (15 January 2008). "Payments to Afghans detailed at MarSOC inquiry". Navy Times. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  28. ↑ "9 Afghan Civilians Killed In NATO Strike". CBS News. 5 March 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  29. ↑ deGrandpre, Andrew (3 April 2015). "Task Force Violent: The unforgiven". Military Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
    Zucchino, David (26 January 2008). "Marine Humvee was shot at, Army expert testifies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015. Mero, who examined the Humvee within two days of the March 4 incident, said he was pressured by the Air Force colonel in charge of the investigation to alter his conclusions.
  30. ↑ "Probe: US Marines killed civilians in Afghanistan | Jerusalem Post". Fr.jpost.com. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  31. ↑ agency=Associated Press (15 January 2008). "Navy: No Proof to Marines' Ambush Story". Navy: No Proof to Marines' Ambush Story. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  32. ↑ von Zeilbauer, Paul (20 April 2015). "Killings of Afghan Civilians Recall Haditha". New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  33. 1 2 3 "Pentagon apologizes for deaths of Afghan civilians". CNN. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
    Nicholson, John (8 May 2007). "DoD News Briefing with Col. Nicholson from Afghanistan". United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  34. ↑ Lowe, Christian (18 May 2007). "Conway Condemns Afghanistan Apology". Military.com. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  35. ↑ Talton, Trista (11 October 2007). "Court of inquiry ordered in spec-ops case". Marine Times (Gannett). Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  36. 1 2 3 David Zucchino (24 May 2008). "Marine Corps unit cleared in Afghan shootout". LA Times. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  37. ↑ "Ex-Marine testifies in Afghan deaths tribunal". NBC News. Associated Press. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
    Thompson, Estes (9 January 2008). "Civilians died needlessly, former marine tells court of inquiry". Welland Tribune (Canada). Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  38. ↑ Meek, James Gordon (21 February 2013). "Helped U.S. Win Cold War; Marines Killed His Family". New York Daily News. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
    Zucchino, David (23 January 2008). "2 Afghans testify in Marine inquiry". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  39. ↑ Zucchino, David (30 January 2008). "Marine court hears dueling depictions of accused". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 June 2015. He said the U.S. military made payments to the families of 17 dead listed by the governor, but a later Navy investigation put the number of dead at five to seven. And despite reports that children and women had been killed, Waple said, testimony produced only a wounded 16-year-old boy and a woman with a hand injury.
  40. 1 2 deGrandpre, Andrew (19 March 2015). "Task Force Violent: The unforgiven". Military Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  41. ↑ Talton, Trista (28 June 2008). "MarSOC report: More investigation needed". Marine Corps Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  42. ↑ Seck, Hope Hodge (21 February 2015). "MARSOC remains a growing, changing force after 9 years". Marine Corps Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  43. ↑ deGrandpre, Andrew (2015). "Task Force Violent: The Unforgiven". Military Times (Garnett). Retrieved 5 May 2015.

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