Granai airstrike
Encyclopedia
The Granai airstrike, sometimes called the Granai massacre, refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan
civilian
s, mostly children, and including women, by American
aircraft on May 4, 2009, in the village of Granai (sometimes spelled Garani or Gerani) in Farah Province
, south of Herat
, Afghanistan
. The US military have admitted significant errors were made in carrying out the airstrikes. They say, "the inability to discern the presence of civilians and avoid and/or minimize accompanying collateral damage resulted in the unintended consequence of civilian casualties".
The Australian
has said that the airstrike resulted in "one of the highest civilian death tolls from Western military action since foreign forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001". The Afghan government have said that around 140 civilians were killed, of which 93 were children and only 22 were adult males. Afghanistan's top rights body has said 97 civilians were killed, most of them children. Other estimates range from 86 to 145 civilians killed. An earlier probe by the US military had said that 20-30 civilians were killed along with 60-65 insurgents. More recently, American officials have said "no one will ever be able conclusively to determine the number of civilian casualties that occurred".
investigation, including a video, was due to be released in 2009, but was delayed, due to an internal debate about what details of the report should be revealed.
The Guardian
and The Times
reported in May 2010 that Wikileaks
were preparing to release a video of an American attack in Afghanistan, which killed around 100 civilians, including many children. The Times said that the video was "said to concern the so-called 'Granai massacre', when American aircraft dropped 500lb and 1,000lb bombs on a suspected militant compound." On June 6, 2010, Wired magazine reported that 22 year-old U.S. Army intelligence analyst, SPC Bradley Manning, has been alleged to be the source of the leak, along with the leak of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike video and other documents.
Amy Goodman
of Democracy Now asked Daniel Ellsberg
of the Pentagon Papers
whether he thought Wikileaks should post the video online. He responded
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s, mostly children, and including women, by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aircraft on May 4, 2009, in the village of Granai (sometimes spelled Garani or Gerani) in Farah Province
Farah Province
Farah is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Farah. Farah is a spacious and sparsely populated province that lies on the Iranian border...
, south of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. The US military have admitted significant errors were made in carrying out the airstrikes. They say, "the inability to discern the presence of civilians and avoid and/or minimize accompanying collateral damage resulted in the unintended consequence of civilian casualties".
The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
has said that the airstrike resulted in "one of the highest civilian death tolls from Western military action since foreign forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001". The Afghan government have said that around 140 civilians were killed, of which 93 were children and only 22 were adult males. Afghanistan's top rights body has said 97 civilians were killed, most of them children. Other estimates range from 86 to 145 civilians killed. An earlier probe by the US military had said that 20-30 civilians were killed along with 60-65 insurgents. More recently, American officials have said "no one will ever be able conclusively to determine the number of civilian casualties that occurred".
Video of the airstrike
A summary of the PentagonThe Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
investigation, including a video, was due to be released in 2009, but was delayed, due to an internal debate about what details of the report should be revealed.
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported in May 2010 that Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
were preparing to release a video of an American attack in Afghanistan, which killed around 100 civilians, including many children. The Times said that the video was "said to concern the so-called 'Granai massacre', when American aircraft dropped 500lb and 1,000lb bombs on a suspected militant compound." On June 6, 2010, Wired magazine reported that 22 year-old U.S. Army intelligence analyst, SPC Bradley Manning, has been alleged to be the source of the leak, along with the leak of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike video and other documents.
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
of Democracy Now asked Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
of the Pentagon Papers
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers, officially titled United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967...
whether he thought Wikileaks should post the video online. He responded
See also
- Deh Bala wedding party bombingDeh Bala wedding party bombing- Investigation :An investigation ordered by President Karzai and led by a nine-man commission of the senate found that 47 civilians including the bride had been killed, this was also confirmed by human rights officials....
47 civilians mostly children killed in Nangarhar province, 2008 - Azizabad airstrikeAzizabad airstrikeThe Azizabad airstrike took place on Friday 22 August 2008 in the village of Azizabad which is located in Shindand district, Herat Province, Afghanistan...
78-92 civilians mostly children killed in Herat province, 2008 - Sangin airstrikeSangin airstrikeSangin airstrike refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians many of whom were women and children, in the village of Sangin in Helmand province Afghanistan on July 23, 2010....
39-52 mostly women and children killed in Nangarhar province, 2010 - Uruzgan helicopter attackUruzgan helicopter attackUruzgan helicopter attack refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians including four women and one child, another 12 were wounded...
27-33 civilians killed in Orūzgān province, 2010 - Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)