Capture, Detain and COIN: merged thread

[jmm99]

My primary foci in this "capture-detain" thread and in its sibling "kill" thread have been on US-owned Title 10 - Title 50 direct actions against HVTs (AQ officers being the type cases). We shall see whether the two 2012 MOUs will impact those particular DAs - e.g., a DA against an AQ officer at a target location in Astan, or a DA launched from Astan soil against an AQ officer located in Pakistan.

What I may not have mentioned here or elsewhere is that Afghanistan has acceded (10 Nov 2009) to the 1977 Additional Protocols I and II of the 1949 Geneva Conventions (link and link). In short, that placed Astan on the same legal playing field as ISAF (UN, EU, NATO), but on a footing different from that of the US (non-accession to APs I & II). AP II is fully cited in Section 1.4 (page 2) of the Special Operations MOU; and in Section 1.2 (page 1) of the Detention Facilities MOU.

The language used (in Section 5 of the Special Operations MOU - .pdf snip attached) seems very exclusive of direct US participation in, say, "house clearings". These two MOUs remind me of the 2008 Iraq "SOFA"; and, if so, the consequences will probably be similar.

I don't get what you mean by this:

from BW
We must learn that it is far better to achieve horrible results doing things right than it is to achieve tremendous results doing things wrong. This is a big step in the right direction, but we are losing control of the situation and effectiveness is out the window. Perfect. For those who are thinking, "we may as well pack up and go home," you are not far wrong.

- the usual "What we have here is a failure to communicate" - a mutual problem, it would seem.

Regards

Mike