Afghanistan Peace CampaignAccording to the report, cases related to alleged war crimes by American soldiers in Afghanistan have been handled with double standards.
The New York Times, in a recently published investigative report, has revealed the culture of immunity granted to some U.S. forces accused of committing war crimes in Afghanistan.
According to the report, cases related to alleged war crimes by American soldiers in Afghanistan have been handled with double standards.
The report highlights two prominent cases: Matthew Golsteyn, a Green Beret officer, admitted in an interview with the CIA that in 2010, while in Afghanistan, he released a bomb-making suspect and later killed him, burning his body. This case was repeatedly opened and closed, and he was intensely prosecuted.
In contrast, the case in Nerkh district of Kunduz province, which involved the killing and torture of nine Afghan detainees by an ODA team, was eventually closed despite extensive evidence, and no U.S. service member was charged.
Wahid Faqiri, an international relations expert, said: “Nearly four to five recent reports by The New York Times on U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan are truly shocking. They expose a culture of impunity, showing that the U.S. is unwilling to investigate the crimes committed by its soldiers in Afghanistan.”
The findings reveal that the U.S. Special Operations Command has repeatedly opted for silence, cover-ups, and even promotions for the accused. One example is the 2015 airstrike on the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, which killed 42 civilians. Although accountability was promised in that case, no senior U.S. official was ever punished.
Ruhullah Hotak, a political analyst, said: “In investigating war crimes committed in Afghanistan over the past two decades, there has been a completely double-standard approach.”
Critics argue that these double standards reflect a culture of blind loyalty and structural immunity within U.S. Special Forces. The revelations raise serious questions about transparency, accountability, and compliance with the laws of war by American elite forces.
Previously, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly called on countries responsible for committing war crimes in Afghanistan to pay compensation and bring the perpetrators to justice.