The war in Afghanistan is hardly won, but there is no doubt that this conflict is quickly becoming history. In May, a NATO summit approved a plan to withdraw coalition troops by 2014, and the media has long lost interest in the Taliban. Considering that the war has been going on for over a decade, it is worth looking at it also through the eye of a historian and recalling the events from eight years ago - when the fights were the hardest and the prospects were darkest.
In an atmosphere of growing hatred and in the heat of a never-ending war, people engage in unimaginable cruelty. It was in bloody 2006 that it was not difficult to find evidence. One of the moving war stories was described by Sean Parnell, an American officer and author of memoirs published in Poland under the title "Platoon of Outcasts". This new US Army lieutenant was brought to the Forward Base of Operations in the Barmal Valley on the Afghanistan / Pakistan borderland eight years ago. There he commanded the Third Platoon of the Bravo Company from the Second Battalion of the 87th Infantry Regiment, which was part of the 10th Mountain Division. The main tasks of Parnell and his men included patrolling the area and fighting against the Taliban and Arab mercenaries infiltrating the territory of Pakistan. It was during one of such patrols, at the end of July 2006, that the lieutenant found himself in a small mountain village, where he saw something that shocked even a seasoned rangers during several months of battles.
Routine mission?
Initially, there were no signs that the day would differ in any way about the others. A routine mission in which Parnell's platoon goes to a mountain village will give out some humanitarian aid and maybe even get some information about the rebels. However, the Americans saw something strange as they approached their destination. A little boy, in particular, who was in rags and was spinning in a circle limping, his head raised to the afternoon sun.
Barmal. It was in this region that Lieutenant Sean Parnell's platoon of "Outcasts" was stationed. In one of the mountain villages his soldiers made a macabre discovery
At first, the soldiers thought that he had been drugged and that he was to be used as a living bomb trap. The truth was quite different. Much more macabre. It turned out that: His eyes were bulging out. His eye sockets glowed black, though it was hard to tell what tool the torturers had used. The child's teeth were also knocked out . Upon reaching the village, the patrol discovered that other children had also been tortured. The Americans couldn't understand what actually happened. They only received an answer during a conversation with a representative of the council of elders. He was the grandfather of the crippled boy, and out of gratitude for bringing his grandson, he told the soldiers the whole truth. A few weeks earlier the village was attacked by rebels to punish its inhabitants for supporting coalition . They kidnapped the oldest grandson of a man who Parnell writes:
He was the future of the family, the firstborn and therefore the most beloved and respected child in Afghan culture. His kidnapping was a blow none of the inhabitants would ever forget.
The kidnappers took the boy to one of their mountain hideouts, where they gouged out his eyes and made him a sex toy, having knocked his teeth out first to increase his delight. They raped a six-year-old for weeks.
The villagers did not remain passive and set up an armed detachment of the best people - after all, in Afghanistan almost everyone has weapons - whose task was to rescue the boy. Eventually, after a long search, they managed to find the hideout of the degenerates and, after a short but fierce fight, free the child. But it was too late. As a result of such a traumatic experience, the boy lost his mind. Nevertheless, the family cared for him as best they could when he returned home. The day the Americans found him standing on the road, he just lost his way and couldn't find his way home. The rescue operation, however, had painful consequences. The defeated captors called for reinforcements and raided the village again. This time they didn't kidnap anyone, but tortured the other children. They had to show who was in charge here. Thus, innocent children became victims of the rebels who wanted to intimidate the villagers. Because such an experience, no council of elders would be inclined to support American soldiers - no matter how well their intentions. As a result, the Taliban grew stronger month by month and the Americans became more and more unwelcome intruders. Besides, they themselves were not without fault either…
Source:
- Sean Parnell, Platoon of Outcasts, Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2012.