Laura Schlessinger/MASSACRE November 2007 southern Garmseer district of Helmand province, AFGHANISTAN
jc
of Helmand province, AFGHANISTAN
[..] "It was about two in the morning when we heard the aircraft, and
I woke up," said Abdul Manaan. "I looked out but I couldn't see
anything. My two younger brothers who were in another room came to me
to ask what was going on, but I told them, 'Nothing, just go back to
sleep'. They went back to bed, as did I.
"Then I heard a noise on the roof, and I looked out and there were
armed men up there. They climbed down and came into my brothers' room,
and asked them if they were Taliban. One of my brothers said 'No, we
are shopkeepers, come and search the house. We have nothing, no guns
or anything'. The soldiers shot him on the spot. My other brother they
brought to me, and tied his hands. Then they slit his throat. I could
hear him gurgling. He was still making a noise when they got to me.
"One of the soldiers spoke a little Pashto - he asked whether we were
Taliban and I said no, we were shopkeepers. They made me stand up
against the wall and tied my hands. They put the knife to my neck and
cut me three times. Then they threw an old tarpaulin over me and left.
"But I wasn't dead." [..]
The 508/82nd Airborne was on a mission at this time.
On January 9, 2008 Laura Schlessinger gave the following interview on
CNN:
[..] KING: An e-mail from Todd in Los Angeles, "what's the latest on
your
son and his military service? I read last year he was under
investigation for allegedly posting offensive material on the
Internet. What's going on?"
SCHLESSINGER: Oh, gosh, I can't believe you brought up something that
was in the "National Enquirer" and in one tiny newspaper that had a
grudge against me. My New Year's resolution is not to deal with stupid
trash. I'm very proud of my son.
KING: It's not true then?
SCHLESSINGER: He's serving in Afghanistan in combat. As we speak, he
has a gun in his hand. And I'm very proud of what he's been doing.
[..]
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/09/lkl.01.html
It's likely true that he does have a gun in his hand. A more reliable
source has another perspective. He does walk around a base with guns,
more like in dress up. It's not likely he is allowed out of a safe
zone. He does have chores. The last photo I saw he had a bad case of
acne and a gun, not dressed to leave base, another posed image. Maybe
he'll share photos and give a talk for Santa Barbara, Calif., Army
reservists again next April after his deployment ends. He owes the
nation accountability, not more cowardly lies like his mother
continues.
Dr. Laura son linked to lurid Web page
Site contained violent, sex-oriented images one official called
'repulsive'
By Matthew D. LaPlante The Salt Lake Tribune Last Updated:
05/23/2007 01:15:21 PM MDT
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5934072
Laura Schlessinger's Son in the Army Posts Objectionable Material on
His MySpace Page;
The "Doc" Takes a Break from Column Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Schlessinger's Son Under Investigation Thursday, May 24, 2007
http://www.independent.com/news/2007/may/24/schlessingers-son-under-investigation/
Military Investigation of Dr. Laura's Son Complete
Deryk Schlessinger Still Serving in Afghanistan Friday, August 31,
2007
http://www.independent.com/news/2007/aug/31/military-investigation-dr-lauras-son-complete/
Dr Laura's Son Investigated By Army Thursday, September 6, 2007
http://www.independent.com/news/2007/sep/06/dr-lauras-son-investigated-army/
It was not "one tiny newspaper that had a grudge against me" as she
said. Just as she lied numerous times before.
http://lolita-lolita17.blogspot.com/2006/09/cnn-larry-king-dr-laura-lie-soon-oprah.html
dept. of america Dr. Laura's Cretin Son Having Fun Torturing People
In Afghanistan
http://wonkette.com/politics/dept'-of-america/dr-lauras-cretin-son-having-fun-torturing-people-in-afghanistan-262247.php
[..] The 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan shuttered the pages
on Friday. The Pentagon managed to immediately cleanse all evidence of
the MySpace pages, including whatever copies and cached versions were
kept by Google and the Internet Archive. [..]
Wonkette
Not everyone can get the Army to say "the enemy" could be to blame. At
the same time destroy "the enemy" evidence on Rupert Murdoch's
MySpace. Schlessinger just happens to be a mouthpiece/hitman for
Rupert.
TMZ also has a missing photo and article
Did Dr. Laura's Son Have a Deathwish?
http://bp0.blogger.com/_JAXyOVtZ0eE/Rl735YZHhdI/AAAAAAAACnE/4wwbV7iB6-w/s1600-h/derek_schlessinger_laura.jpg
What's up with TMZ? The Schlessingers do have connections at the
Department of Defense.
http://www.defenselink.mil/dodcmsshare/newsstoryPhoto/2007-07/scr_070730-D-8901Q-001.jpg
http://bp0.blogger.com/_0qTU784XP0M/R1y_SXBxobI/AAAAAAAACLs/YVFDcUrzdus/s1600-h/Gordon+R+England.jpg
When certain people don't like evidence, news or facts they disappear.
Others won't be told at all.
MASSACRE MASSACRE MASSACRE
[..] Although the raid is said to have happened three weeks ago,
there has been no news or comment about it outside Helmand. [..]
there has been no news or comment about it outside Helmand
there has been no news or comment about it outside Helmand
there has been no news or comment about it outside Helmand
Afghanistan: Foreign Troops Accused in Helmand Raid Massacre
http://mostlywater.org/afghanistan_foreign_troops_accused_helmand_raid_massacre
Foreign Troops Accused in Helmand Raid Massacre
By Matiullah Minapal and Aziz Ahmad Tassal in Lashkar Gah
(Afghanistan); January 1, 2008 - IWPR
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/01/01/foreign-troops-ac...
Residents of a southern village tell of a night of violence at the
hands of foreign and Afghan soldiers.
A young man lies in bed in the Emergency Hospital in Lashkar Gah. His
throat is bandaged, and he can barely speak. Holding his hand to his
wound, he is clearly in pain as he tells of his ordeal in a whisper,
interjecting over and over again, "My two brothers! My two brothers!"
The man's name is Abdul Manaan, but locals call him "Naanwai", "the
baker", as he has a bread shop in Lakari, about two kilometres from
the village of Toube in the southern Garmseer district of Helmand
province.
Abdul Manaan claims he suffered slashes to his neck during a night
time raid which locals say was carried out by a mixed force of foreign
and Afghan troops helicoptered into Toube on November 18. Eyewitnesses
say the soldiers killed 18 civilians in an attack that was brutal even
by the standards of the Afghan conflict.
Although the raid is said to have happened three weeks ago, there has
been no news or comment about it outside Helmand.
"It was about two in the morning when we heard the aircraft, and I
woke up," said Abdul Manaan. "I looked out but I couldn't see
anything. My two younger brothers who were in another room came to me
to ask what was going on, but I told them, 'Nothing, just go back to
sleep'. They went back to bed, as did I.
"Then I heard a noise on the roof, and I looked out and there were
armed men up there. They climbed down and came into my brothers' room,
and asked them if they were Taliban. One of my brothers said 'No, we
are shopkeepers, come and search the house. We have nothing, no guns
or anything'. The soldiers shot him on the spot. My other brother they
brought to me, and tied his hands. Then they slit his throat. I could
hear him gurgling. He was still making a noise when they got to me.
"One of the soldiers spoke a little Pashto - he asked whether we were
Taliban and I said no, we were shopkeepers. They made me stand up
against the wall and tied my hands. They put the knife to my neck and
cut me three times. Then they threw an old tarpaulin over me and left.
"But I wasn't dead."
As Abdul Manaan lay under the tarpaulin holding his hand to his neck
wound, he heard the soldiers moving around the house and children
screaming.
When the soldiers left after about half an hour, he said, "I got up
and went to my brother. He was cold."
He found the women and children alive in another room, together with
some who had come from other houses. "Everyone was screaming and
crying," he said.
In the morning, Abdul Manaan was taken to hospital in Lashkar Gah.
"I survived, but my brothers are dead," he said. "What shall I do
now?"
Residents of Helmand province have grown used to aerial strikes over
the past several months. As the Taliban and foreign forces battle for
control of the province, civilians are often caught in the middle.
The international troops accuse the Taliban of using women and
children as "human shields", while the insurgents and increasingly
also the Afghan government condemn the foreign forces for reckless
disregard for human life.
But what reportedly happened in Toube was quite different from the
more detached, if horrific, bombing that has destroyed homes and
families.
Abdul Manaan's story is echoed by dozens of villagers from Toube whom
IWPR interviewed as they underwent treatment in Lashkar Gah or
accompanied injured relatives there.
All spoke consistently of soldiers breaking down doors, shooting
children and cutting throats. They agreed that the raid began at two
in the morning with the sound of helicopters bringing in dozens of
armed men, both Afghan and foreign.
One man called Nabi Jan told IWPR, "At two in the morning on Sunday,
foreign troops entered my house and shot my children in their cradles.
I collected their scattered brains with my own hands and placed them
near the bodies.
"They killed 18 people that night. I swear none of them were Taliban
fighters," he said, his anger making his voice rise in tone. "They
killed civilians - people like me - with rough farmers' hands. If you
don't believe me, then come with me to the cemetery. I will dig up the
bodies to show you."
According to Nabi Jan, the soldiers left at about five in the morning,
when it was still dark. He and what is left of his family are now
camped out by the river, in the winter cold, afraid to go home.
Borjan, a neighbour waiting in front of the Emergency Hospital in
Lashkar Gah, confirmed the story.
"I was a witness," he said. "Soldiers came into our houses. They shot
everyone they could find, including people asleep in bed. In one
house, babies were shot in their cradles. Three people had their
throats cut, but one survived, and he is now in this hospital."
According to Borjan, the death toll was 17.
"Two of my cousins were killed in this attack," said another man
waiting outside the hospital, Noor Mohammad.
"It was nighttime and we heard aircraft. Soldiers came to our house.
We hid and did not open the door, so they broke it down. When they
entered the house, they began firing, and they killed four people.
They were foreign and Afghan army troops. When they left, they gunned
down anyone they could find."
Garmseer lies about 70 km south of Lashkar Gah, on the border with
Pakistan. The remoteness of its location and the porous nature of the
frontier have ensured that this is one of the most unstable districts
in an extremely troubled province.
The Taliban control most of the district except for a few government-
held administrative centres, and clashes between the insurgents and
the army are frequent.
Still, the stories about what happened in Toube are exceptional, and
the news spread quickly across Helmand by word of mouth, inflaming the
mood. On November 20, a group of nearly 100 elders from the district
came to Lashkar Gah to speak with government representatives at the
offices of the Afghan National Security Directorate.
The emotionally charged meeting was attended by representatives of the
Provincial Reconstruction Team, the joint military and civilian force
tasked with providing security and rebuilding Helmand, operating under
the mandate of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, ISAF.
The elders demanded that foreign forces stay out of Garmseer and asked
for military operations there to end.
"We hate the government and NATO because they kill our women and
elders," said one of the delegation, Khan Agha. "They won't let us get
on with our lives; they slaughter us."
Khan Agha said he had turned against the Afghan National Army.
"Soldiers came into our houses. They shot everyone they could find,
including people asleep in bed. In one house, babies were shot in
their cradles. Three people had their throats cut, but one survived,
and he is now in this hospital."
"It is bad enough that foreigners do these things, but now the Afghan
army is with them. We are angry that even Afghans show us no sympathy.
I used to cooperate with the army, but now, if I have an opportunity,
I will do my best to hurt them," he said.
One after another, the elders told their stories, all sounding
remarkably similar.
"My name is Hajji Ali Mohammad," said one old man, who was so hunched
over that he could barely walk. Tears ran down his face as he spoke.
"It was during the night that armed men entered my house and shot two
of my sons. One of them had just got married a month ago. My sons were
not members of the Taliban, they were farmers. We are poor farmers."
Mohammad Hussain Andiwal, the police chief for Helmand province,
addressed the gathering at length. He said he would raise the Toube
violence with international forces.
"I can feel your pain," he told the elders. "Even a heart of stone
would melt with these sorrows. I will speak with the foreigners and
make them promise not to kill civilians again like this."
According to the PRT, the incident at Toube is still being
investigated.
"There was an operation [in Garmseer] about that time," said one PRT
official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "And we were aware that
allegations had been made. We found no evidence at the time to support
these charges, but an investigation is ongoing."
It may be difficult to pinpoint blame, assuming the accusations made
by Toube residents are substantiated.
Several military groups operate in Helmand, and not all of them answer
to the British-led ISAF or follow its rules of engagement.
The United States-led Coalition also has soldiers in the province, and
US Special Forces work with and mentor Afghan troops.
PRT officials were unable to comment on who is most likely to have
been involved.
Most Helmand residents do not distinguish between British, American,
Canadian, or Danish soldiers, using the term "foreigner" for all.
Helmand's police chief cautioned against blaming foreigners for all of
the province's troubles and called on the assembled elders to reflect
on the terrible events of the past 30 years.
"Any time we have had hopes that our country would be rebuilt, that
education would revive, or that we would have doctors, engineers,
hospitals... we get caught up in disaster. When the Russians were
defeated, then commanders came from our own people and carried out
evil acts," he said, referring to the internecine strife between
Afghan factions in the Nineties.
"Things took place in Kabul that were worse even than what happened
with the Russians. Who did these things? Were they British? Were they
Dutch? Were they Americans? No, it was we who did them!"
Andiwal asked for cooperation from the elders in trying to resolve the
problems.
"If you do not want things to improve, then two years from now there
will be nothing left," said Andiwal. "Let us come to your villages,
and we will listen to you and work with you."
At this, an old man in the corner rose slowly to his feet. He leaned
on a cane, shaking as he spoke.
"So this is our fault?" he said. "You, the government, cannot maintain
security. You have closed our schools. Many countries have come here,
and they cannot do anything. So how can we?"
Photo Gallery of US victims in Afghanistan:
http://www.rawa.org/s-photos.htm
The Afghan Victims Memorial Project by Prof. Marc Herold:
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mwherold/memorial.htm