US to Make Concession on Night Raids in Afghanistan

The Obama administration's concessions are a recognition that the US is losing the war

The Obama administration appears ready to make a concession on night raids in negotiations with the Kabul government for a strategic partnership deal in Afghanistan beyond the withdrawal date of 2014.

Negotiators are close to a deal in which night raids after 2014 would be led by Afghan security forces and would be subject to Afghan judicial oversight. This was a compromise proposed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, for whom the two sticking points for a deal for U.S. activity post-2014 were night raids and domestic control of prisons.

In March, the Obama administration also yielded to Karzai on the issue of Afghan control of prisons. After instability following recent outrages like the U.S. military’s Koran burning, the unprovoked massacre of 17 civilians, and leaked video of Marines urinating on Afghan corpses, the Obama administration has had its bargaining chips weakened.

The Obama administration’s concessions are apparently a recognition of the intractable nature of the conflict. The lauded troop surge has only led to more chaos and intensified violence. Just this week, nine Afghan troops were killed and 11 were abducted across the nation, as militants step up their attacks on security forces. Similarly, Taliban militants on Tuesday set fire to a convoy of up to six NATO tankers carrying fuel for occupation forces in southwestern Afghanistan.

Author: John Glaser

John Glaser writes for Antiwar.com.