Taliban conscription
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During the Taliban administration of Afghanistan (1996-2001) there was an extensive, varied conscription program.
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[edit] Ante September 11th, 2001 Taliban conscription
[edit] Kidnapping foreigners
Prior to the collapse of their regime the Taliban made widespread use of conscription, and according to some of the Guantanamo captives, kidnapping and virtual slavery.
| id | name | notes |
| 84 | Ilkham Turdbyavich Batayev |
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[edit] Conscription of children
According to a report from Oxford University the Taliban made wide-spread use of the conscription of children in 1997, 1998 and 1999.[2] The report states that during the civil war that preceded the Taliban regime thousands of orphaned boys joined various militia for "employment, food, shelter, protection and economic opportunity such as looting. The report said that during its initial period the Taliban "long depended upon cohorts of youth".
Witnesses stated that each land-owning family had to provide one young man and $500 in expenses. In August of that year 5000 students aged between 15 and 35 left madrassas in Pakistan to join the Taliban.
[edit] Conscripted into the Taliban's civil service
[edit] Conscripted into military service
| id | name | notes |
| 546 | Muhibullah |
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[edit] Post September 11th, Pre-collapse Taliban conscription
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation quotes a young Afghan, who reported:[5]
- "They're rounding men up for a fight to the last man."
According the ABC report Ahmed Zia said there had been a large-scale exodus from Kabul. He claimed the Taliban were rounding up young boys for battle. He also claimed the Taliban were forcing people to give blood.
The British paper The Telegraph reported, on September 29, 2001, that the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Omar, had closed all Afghanistan's religious school, so the students could fight beside the Taliban.[6]
The Los Angeles Times, reported, on October 13, 2001, an account of young man who had a lucky encounter with a Taliban conscription patrol reminiscent of the 18th Century Royal Navy press gang:[7]
- "Samim, the young man who fled with his family, is an ethnic Tajik. He said he had a lucky escape Thursday night, walking home from the bazaar with his friend, Farid Alsoo.
- "They stumbled across a Taliban patrol roughly shoving young men into a minivan. About five or 10 young men were already captive. The Taliban men seized Alsoo and pushed him into the van.
- "'They tried to get me, but I ran,' Samim said. 'They chased me for a few meters, but I got away,' he said, speaking in English. As the family breadwinner, he couldn't afford to be arrested or pressed to fight."
[edit] Post-collapse Taliban conscription
[edit] Accounts of the Taliban's conscription policies from Guantanamo detainees
On March 3, 2006, after exhausting all it legal appeals, the US Department of Defense was forced to comply with a court order and release information about the identity of the captives held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. The DoD released thousands of pages of documents prepared for, or arising from, the captives' Combatant Status Review Tribunals and Administrative Review Board hearings.
Those thousands of pages of documents revealed that many of the detainees described themselves as conscripts, somethimes enlisted at gunpoint, and imprisoned in their barracks under armed guards, kept on hand for the Taliban to use as "cannon fodder".
[edit] "Enemy combatant" status
Some skeptical commentators have discounted the accounts of Guantanamo detainees whose stories suggested they weren't hardened terrorists. However, there are captives who even the American intelligence analysts acknowledged were reluctant conscripts.
Under questioning by US District Court Judge Joyce Hens Green US Government lawyer Brian Boyle confirmed that the definition of "enemy combatant" status was so broad that even a little old lady from Switzerland, who sent money to what she thought was a legitimate charity, could be classified as an "enemy combatant" if workers for that charity clandestinely diverted some of its resources to back projects with ties to terrorism.[8]
Some of the Guantanamo detainees had their classification as "enemy combatants" confirmed because they had a business arrangement to supply al Qaeda, or the Taliban, with mundane items, like firewood.
Some of the Guantanamo detainees had their classification as "enemy combatants" confirmed even when they claimed they were enlisted at gunpoint, and housed in their barracks under armed guard.[9]
Some of the Guantanamo detainees had their classification as "enemy combatants" confirmed even when they claimed they were kidnapped, and employed as kitchen helpers, or servants, as virtual slaves.
Some of the Guantanamo detainees reported that they were conscripted, not for military duties, but simply to perform civilian duties the Taliban couldn't fill through normal hiring practices.[10]
[edit] Accounts
| Shabir Ahmed | - | CSR Tribunal President |
"...Additionally, I understand that you requested two witnesses and the reason why you wanted these witnesses was they could testify that you joined the Taliban as a result of some force. This Tribunal has determined that this testimony, even if true, is not relevant to these proceedings. This Tribunal looks at the enemy combatant status of the Detainee. These witnesses appear to have information about your actions before you joined the Taliban. As such, the nature of the evidence is more addressing character which is not relevant for this panel to consider. Additionally, the issue of force or conscription to serve the Taliban is not relevant to one's status as a possible enemy combatant. Accordingly, the Detainee's request for witnesses is denied..."[9] |
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| Nasrullah | pre-9/11 | testimony |
"Basically, the recruiting and conscription was only for the people who had a piece of land, but if the people were working on the land, they would hire someone else. Since those people understood that the Taliban hired them to fight against each other, nobody was willing to fight each other. They pulled themselves aside and did not serve the Taliban military. They escaped or hid. But the Taliban understood what was going on and took cars to each village to collect these people. I was doing cloth masterwork. I was a tailor and when soldiers came behind my door, I didn't have my turban on or shoes on my feet and they pulled my out for the service. This is why 1 went to the service. It was an obligation."[10] |
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| Habib Rasool | post-9/11 | factors favoring continued detention |
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[edit] References
- ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Ilkham Turdbyavich Batayev'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 47-53
- ^ Jo Boyden, Jo de Berry, Thomas Feeny, Jason Hart (January 2002). Children Affected by Armed Conflict in South Asia: A review of trends and issues identified through secondary research pages. University of Oxford Refugee Studies Centre. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Muhibullah's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 64-76
- ^ Factors for and against the continued detention (.pdf) of Muhibullah Administrative Review Board - page 82
- ^ Afghani men dodge Taliban conscription, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, September 26, 2001
- ^ Pakistanis fail to win handover of bin Laden, The Telegraph, September 29, 2001
- ^ Refugees flee Taliban conscription, Los Angeles Times, October 13, 2001
- ^ Clive Stafford Smith. "Have you received your gift pack?", The Guardian, April 21, 2007. Retrieved on April 22.
- ^ a b Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Shabir Ahmed's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 80-90
- ^ a b Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Nasrullah's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 40
