Vice-Admiral William McRaven and Afghan officers with Haji Sharabuddin
source：http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7092604.ece
From The Times April 9, 2010 Jerome Starkey, Khataba, Gardez
A top US special forces commander visited a family in rural Afghanistan yesterday to plead for forgiveness after finally admitting that his troops killed five innocent people in a botched raid, which, Afghan officials said, the soldiers then tried to cover up.
Vice-Admiral William H. McRaven went to Paktia in eastern Afghanistan to the home of family head, Haji Sharabuddin, whose two sons were among those shot dead, and offered to enact the tribal ritual nanawate, in which a sheep is sacrificed at the door.
Two pregnant women, a teenage girl, and Haji Sharabuddin’s sons — a policeman and a district prosecutor — were shot dead on February 12 when unidentified raiders stormed their home after an all-night family party to celebrate a newborn child.
Nato had claimed that the force discovered the women’s bodies “tied up, gagged and killed” but later retracted those claims after a Times investigation proved them to be false. Afghan investigators have since accused US troops of digging their bullets out of the bodies and then lying to their superiors but Nato denies a cover-up. Admiral McRaven, commander of America’s Joint Special Operations Command based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, told survivors yesterday that the deaths were a “terrible mistake”.
“I am the commander of the soldiers who accidentally killed your loved ones. I came here to send my condolences. I also came to ask your forgiveness for these terrible tragedies,” he said. It was the first official acknowledgement of US Special Forces involvement in the raid in Khataba, near Gardez. The family welcomed his supplication but insisted on justice.
Admiral McRaven was with US Brigadier-General Kurt Fuller, deputy commander of US troops in eastern Afghanistan, and almost 30 Afghan officers led by Major-General Abdul Khaliq, the 203 Corps commander.
They presented two sheep to the family. One was held down outside the house while an army mullah said a prayer. A soldier with a knife knelt ready to slit its throat and the generals waited for permission to come in.
Under the Pashtun honour code a ritual sacrifice at an adversary’s door is a way of asking for forgiveness. But the animal was spared death. Perhaps enough blood had been spilt at the home. Instead, on an elder’s command, the animals were led into the compound alive and Haji Sharabuddin welcomed the visitors into his guest room.
Admiral McRaven was clearly unimpressed to see The Times there. Afghan soldiers tried to stop us watching the proceedings or taking photographs, until the family intervened.
Admiral McRaven sat stony-faced at the end of a room crammed full of uniforms, relatives and local dignitaries, while an army mullah, Said Wafiqshah, acknowledged Haji Sharabuddin’s anguish. It was the same room where Commander Dawood, the policeman who was killed, danced and joked with his guests moments before he was shot.
“Sir, you and I are very different,” Admiral McRaven said, addressing Haji Sharabuddin directly. “You are a family man with many children and many friends. I am a soldier. I have spent most of my career overseas away from my family, but I have children as well and my heart grieves for you. But we have one thing in common. We have the same god. He is a god who shows great love and compassion. I pray for you today, sir, that in your grief he will show you love and compassion and ease your pain ... I also pray today that he will show mercy on me and my men for this awful tragedy.”
The Afghan generals then gave the family a wad of cash wrapped in a handkerchief. Relatives said there was almost $30,000 (£19,000).
Haji Sharabuddin showed Admiral McRaven a 6in scar on his grandson Sediqullah’s stomach, where doctors operated to save his life. The 15-year-old was wounded by a ricochet when his father was hit.
“When people come to your gate and ask forgiveness, according to Afghan law, it’s difficult to reject them,” Haji Sharabuddin said later. “I am happy they came.” But the family insists that it still wants justice. “I don’t care about the money,” Haji Sharabuddin said. He believes the troops attacked after faulty intelligence from one of his enemies — a spy. He wants the Americans to face international justice and the spy handed to Afghan authorities and punished. “When they surrender the spy, then I will make a decision. Maybe I will forgive them,” he said.
網路來源：http://big5.chinabroadcast.cn/gate/big5/gb.cri.cn/27824/2010/04/09/2805s2811700.htm
美軍突襲誤殺阿富汗家庭5口人 美軍司令登門謝罪
2010-04-09 13:44:20 來源：國際線上專稿 編輯：唐華
國際線上專稿：據英國《泰晤士報》4月9日報道，美國特種部隊司令官、海軍中將威廉·麥克拉文日前訪問阿富汗東部的帕克提亞省，向那裏被美軍突襲誤殺的無辜民眾家屬道歉，請求他們的原諒。阿富汗官員稱，此前那些美軍士兵曾試圖掩蓋此次事件，這是美國特種部隊第一次為誤傷民眾公開道歉。
2月12日，帕克提亞省部落地區居民哈吉·沙拉伯丁一家人正在慶祝新生兒誕生。當他們在門口宰殺綿羊時，突然遭到不明身份的襲擊者攻擊。2名孕婦、一名女孩以及哈吉的2個兒子都被打死，其中一個兒子是警察，另外一人是地區檢察官。北約曾宣稱，特種部隊發現一些女子屍體，“她們被綁起來塞住嘴，後遭殺害”。但隨後軍方又收回了這些聲明。阿富汗調查人員譴責美軍從屍體中取出子彈，並向他們的上級撒謊，以掩蓋誤殺事件。
4月8日，麥克拉文與駐阿富汗東部美軍副司令官科特·富勒以及30多名阿富汗軍官一起，攜帶兩隻羊來到哈吉家門前。按照當地傳統，攜帶祭品來到對手門外，是一種祈求原諒的舉動。如果祭品在門外被殺死，意味著未獲得諒解；而羊被活著拖入屋內，意味著主人歡迎客人到來。
幸運的是，麥克拉文被請入屋內。他開門見山地對哈吉說：“先生，你與我不同，你有許多家人和朋友陪伴。而我是一名士兵，我大部分時間在遠離家人的海外度過，但是我也有孩子，我與你同樣悲傷。我請求上蒼施以你憐憫和愛，緩解你的痛苦。同時也祈求他施與我和同伴仁慈，不要再發生這樣的慘劇。”
隨後，阿富汗軍官給了哈吉一捆用手帕包著的現金，親戚們說大約有3萬美元。哈吉說：“當有人來到你家門口請求原諒時，我很難拒絕他們。我很高興他們能來。但我依然希望能夠通過司法途徑解決，然後再決定是否原諒他們。”（楊柳）
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