The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Campbell, on Tuesday denied some veterans’ claims that the Defense Department enforces a policy that requires U.S. military personnel to ignore child abuse committed by Afghan police, militia and soldiers.
“I personally have served multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan and am absolutely confident that no such theater policy has ever existed here, and certainly, no such policy has existed throughout my tenure as commander,” Campbell stated.
A story in The New York Times outlined how U.S. soldiers were powerless to help child rape victims in Afghanistan and got in trouble with their superiors if they tried. It gave several examples in which U.S. soldiers could hear children being raped but were told to look the other way because it’s part of Afghanistan’s “culture.”
The report said the most that could be done is to report incidents to Afghan officials, but Campbell indicated otherwise.
“Consistent with clear U.S. Department of Defense policy on the issue of sexual assault, trafficking of persons, and similar matters, I expect all personnel to treat others with respect and dignity,” Campbell stated. “I further expect that any suspicions of sexual abuse will be immediately reported to the chain of command, regardless of who the alleged perpetrators or victims are.”
“The chain of command will take appropriate action under applicable law, as well as DoD and service regulations,” Campbell continued. “If the abuse involves Afghans, a report shall be forwarded to me through operations channels … so that the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan can be advised and requested to take action.”
Campbell said he raised the issue with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and that Ghani “made it clear to me that the Afghan government will not tolerate the abuse of its children, or any of its people, and will thoroughly investigate all allegations and administer justice appropriately.”
After referring questions about the allegations to the Pentagon on Monday, on Tuesday a White House spokesman read from the statement and again directed follow-up questions to the Defense Department.
