Militants in Afghanistan stepping up their attacks

The 18-hour offensive last week- end by militants in Kabul and three other cities is a clear indication that the Taliban and al-Qaida believe Afghanistan is becoming increasingly vulnerable as the United States prepares to draw down its troops from 90,000 to 68,000 by the end of September. The offensive was launched by the Haqqani network, which is tied to the world’s leading terrorist organization, al-Qaida, and the Islamic extremist Taliban.

U.S. and NATO commanders continue to work toward a complete withdrawal of its fighting forces by 2014. The security of Afghanistan would then be in the hands of the democratically elected government of President Hamid Karzai.

The war-torn country is entering a dangerous period, which means foreign troops must be on high alert. But it isn’t just the militants who are a threat to America’s fighting men and women. The Afghan people, who, for the most part, supported the invasion of their country in 2001 by a U.S.-led coalition that resulted in the toppling of the Taliban rulers, are beginning to turn on their benefactors. Why? Because of acts of sheer stupidity on the part of some American fighters.

This week, the Los Angeles Times published two photographs from 2010 showing U.S. troops posing with the bodies of dead insurgents. This, on the heels of a shooting spree by a deranged American soldier that resulted in 17 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, being killed in cold blood.

There also was the video of Marines urinating on Afghan corpses. No action has been taken against the Marines pending the review of two investigations that were conducted to determine if any crimes were committed.

And in February, there was the accidental burning of the Qurans that triggered violent protests and revenge killings of six Americans.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was right in insisting last week that the photographs published by the Times were a violation of America’s “core values.”

“My apology is on behalf of the Department of Defense and the U.S. government,” Panetta said at a news conference following a NATO meeting in Brussels.

‘Reprehensible’

Jay Carney, President Obama’s chief spokesman, called the incident involving members of the 82nd Airborne Division “reprehensible.”

The criticism being directed at the Los Angeles Times for publishing the photographs is misplaced. The newspaper did not rush to print and, in fact, had alerted the Pentagon to the existence of those and other such pictures. They had been given to the newspaper by a soldier who wanted to focus attention on the fact that there’s a breakdown of unit discipline in Afghanistan that is compromising the safety of U.S. troops.

While Pentagon officials and NATO commanders insist the incidents of misbehavior by Americans are relatively few and do not reflect the overall record of the 10-year-plus occupation of Afghanistan, the fact remains that public support for the NATO-led campaign is weakened.

The action of a few Americans further exacerbates the already tense relationship between the Obama administration and the government of President Karzai.

The calls for foreign troops to leave the country before 2014 are being heard with greater regularity on the streets of Kabul and other population centers.

The credibility of the United States as an honorable ally rests with how it handles the various cases involving American troops. There can be no turning a blind eye to obvious acts of unlawful or immoral behavior. Such acts are expected from al-Qaida, the Taliban and the Haqqani militant network. We are better than them.