U.S. Throws Everything But the Kitchen Sink at Afghanistan

by Marc W. Herold
Departments of Economics and Women's Studies
Whittemore School of Business & Economics
University of New Hampshire

POSTED JULY 4, 2002 --

For nine months the United States has dropped upon the people of Afghanistan everything from Aerojet/Honeywell cluster bombs to dollar bills, peanut butter to 'daisy cutters', leaflets¹ to 'smart bombs', battery-powered 'cheapo' radio sets to Raytheon cruise missiles, 1,500 pound food pallets [which at least once crashed through a roof killing a mother and child] to 'bunker-busting bombs', radio broadcasts from converted Hercules airplanes to 1,800 rounds per minute from 25 mm Gatling guns mounted on the Lockheed AC-130U gunships, from munitions made from low-cost depleted uranium 'smart' bombs to afghanis. As of October 16, 2001, a favorite weapon has been the "low, slow & ever-so deadly" two AC-130 gunships [worth $190 million apiece] flying out of a base in Oman, while in recent weeks, U.S. special forces have preferred the so-called $300 apiece Flashbang Heckler & Koch concussion grenades. A retired Air Force colonel wrote,

"It has also been reported that the U.S. has established two "engagement" zones in Afghanistan — one near Kabul and one near Kandahar (headquarters of the Taliban). In these kill zones, pilots can fire at emerging military targets under fairly flexible rules of engagement, but they likely are not free-fire zones. There are procedures for confirming targets ("Yes, that's a tank, not a bus."), for controlling the strikes ("Come from the north, turn to west, watch out for other aircraft to the east."), and for allocating resources, as when you have three aircraft and five targets. The establishment of kill boxes is another bad sign for the Taliban and the al Qaeda. It means that the U.S. will routinely sweep the landscape for targets, day and night."²

Bad omen for Afghan civilians? A fully loaded AC-130 carries 70,000 pounds of ammunition. The heat-seeking sensors used by the AC-130 in its nightly forays can not distinguish between civilians and soldiers. The deadly craft was heavily employed in the Kandahar area as of October 16, causing countless civilian casualties. For three days [Oct. 16-18] the AC-130s strafed and attacked targets in Kandahar, sending thousands more refugees fleeing towards Pakistan.³ A week after being introduced into the Afghan theater, AC-130s were employed in a terrible night-time attack upon the small desert village of Chowkar Karez on October 22 [which killed at least 50 civilians]. Maji Mohammad, a 32 year-old Kandahar resident recounted how the gunship's heavy air canons destroyed some residences and a mosque and killed his uncle on October 27 in the Lungar district of Kandahar, 2 kms from the city center,

"I saw the aircraft which was flying low, very slowly. It was shooting continuously."⁴

Precisely as the colonel said : low, slow and deadly.

"Taliban and Al Qaida fighters, we know where you are hiding."

"Taliban and Al Qaida fighters, you are our targets."

More Afghanistan Leaflets: http://www.psywarrior.com/afghanleaf

Stun/flashbang grenades: these grenades are generally used for anti-terrorist and riot control purposes. They use magnesium powder (flash) and mercury fulminate (bang) filler. The magnesium powder produces a blinding light while the mercury fulminate produces a deafening percussive noise. The combination produces sensory overload that renders him unable to function for roughly one half-minute, and leaves him seriously disoriented for another half-minute. Some versions are even capable of multiple bursts, for a more prolonged impact. Commandos used flash-bang grenades to scatter non-combatants who were inadvertently or deliberately providing cover for enemy soldiers.

The Flashbang grenade is effective at temporarily disorienting persons as it creates an extremely loud sound and blinding light and, hence, it used in surprise attacks. U.S. special forces have been using them extensively in their night-time raids of Afghan villages. Imagine yourself in an isolated village without electricity, very few cars, ... living a life which has hardly changed in decades. One night to the sound of whirring helicopter blades, strangers with night-vision goggles and other paraphernalia erupt throwing Flashbang grenades everywhere. In the unfolding chaos, a six-year-old girl died falling into a well. A special forces soldier hit the 80-year-old village elder, Hajji Berget, in the head with a rifle butt, killing him in the village mosque.

The eyes of a mother from the desert village of Bandi Temur ( attacked by U.S. special forces on May 24 express her feelings about the 'Flashbang' experience [she holds a spent grenade casing].

Photo by Eugene Hoskinko [AP]

-- 30 --

Footnotes

1. The leaflets border on the absurd. The attempts by the US to drop leaflets in Pushto and Dari telling people what to do if they see American troops armed with "state of the art weapons" are laughable. Americans are trying to tell the Afghans: "Drop your weapons, raise your hands and walk towards the American soldiers." There are serious problems with this: how do you translate "state of the art weapons" into Pushto and Dari? This is a translator's nightmare; besides, the Afghans are unfamiliar with such expressions. Surrender is a concept unknown to the Afghans, and raising one's hands has a very different meaning in Pushto: it means offering fatihah [a prayer from the first chapter of the Qur'an] for the dead. The Afghans would be tickled pink. http://www.psywarrior.com/afghanleaf.html

2. See Charles E. Miller, "Low, Slow & Deadly. Behold the AC-130 Gunship," National Review [October 18, 2001] at www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-millerprint101801.html, includes a detailed diagram of the gunship.

3. Catherine Philp, "Fleeing Refugees Turn Against US Over Gunships," The Times [October 18, 2001]

4. Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey, "Collateral Damage VII - AC-130s Blast Civilians in Kandahar," Pravda.RU [November 2, 2001 at 21:36].