A Not Very Peaceful Afghan Protest

It's not exactly freedom on the march:

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) — Hundreds of protesters chanting "Die America!" and throwing stones tried to batter down a gate at the U.S. military's main Afghan base Tuesday, adding to anxieties in a country worried that fighting with insurgents could disrupt elections...

The demonstrators said they were angry that U.S. troops arrested the villagers late Monday without consulting local authorities.

"We have supported the Americans for years. We should be treated with dignity," said Shah Aghar, 35. "They are arresting our people without the permission of the government. They are breaking into our houses and offending the people. We are very angry."

The U.S. detention (and treatment) of Afghan detainees is one of those issues that doesn't exactly have tons of traction stateside. But not surprisingly it seems to be something of big deal   for Afghans. an  A few weeks ago, the WSJ mentioned:

The Karzai government wants custody over Afghans held by the U.S., and greater control over American military operations in the country. The Bush administration has rebuffed both requests. "Success depends on maintaining" Afghan goodwill, cautions Afghan Ambassador Said Tayeb Jawad.

I'm not convinced Afghans would get better treatment if they were being held by the Afghan government but I'm curious how the arrangement works now and whether their might be any ways to improve it--both from a P.R. perspective and a humanitarian one.  For instance, in Iraq, there's an (overworked) board of Americans and Iraqis who review detainee cases and can reccomend releasing prisoners. Does Afghanistan have a similar system?

Comments

[Leslie]

Well see the Afghans are responding to the global war on terror or GWOT, which the Bush administration is rebranding this summer as the "global struggle against violent extremism" or GSAVE. Once the new product has been completely rolled out, everyone will be able to ignore these gloomy reports and focus on the positive alternatives instead.