Jeremy Scahill - Dirty Wars

331 record number:Joshua Partlow, “July Becomes Deadliest Month for U.S. Troops in Nearly Nine-Year Afghan War,” Washington Post, July 31, 2010.

332 enter their areas of responsibility:Author interviews, Afghan police commanders, October 2010.

332 “U.S. and NATO presence”:Matthew Hoh, letter of resignation to Ambassador Nancy J. Powell, Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources, U.S. Department of State, September 10, 2009, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/ssi/wpc/ResignationLetter.pdf.

332 “sent ripples”:Karen DeYoung, “U.S. Official Resigns over Afghan War,” Washington Post, October 27, 2009.

332 “If he really wanted to affect policy”:Ibid.

332 “need to be killed”:Author interview, Matthew Hoh, September 2010. All quotations attributed to Matthew Hoh are from the author’s interview, unless otherwise noted.

333 McChrystal knew how to promote:Michael Hastings, “The Runaway General,” Rolling Stone , July 8, 2010.

333 “facilitators,” “suspected militants”:Open Society Foundations and The Liaison Office, “The Cost of Kill/Capture: Impact of the Night Raid Surge on Afghan Civilians,” September 19, 2011.

334 important promotion:Jerome Starkey, “Nato ‘Covered Up’ Botched Night Raid in Afghanistan That Killed Five,” Times (UK), March 13, 2010.

334 newborn son:“Man Loses Five Family Members in Disputed NATO Raid,” CNN Afghanistan Crossroads (blog), CNN.com, April 6, 2010.

334 sixth day of a child’s life:Author interview, Jerome Starkey, October 2010.

334 two dozen people, three musicians:Jerome Starkey, “US Special Forces ‘Tried to Cover Up’ Botched Khataba Raid in Afghanistan,” Times Online (UK), April 5, 2010.

334 “We invited many guests”:Author interview, Mohammed Tahir, October 2010. All quotations attributed to Mohammed Tahir are from the author’s interviews, unless otherwise noted.

334 not ethnic Pashtun:Author interviews, Sharabuddin family members, October 2010. Details about the family and the night of the raid are from the author’s interviews, unless otherwise noted.

334 main light:“Man Loses Five Family Members in Disputed NATO Raid.”

334 lasers scoping the grounds:Author interviews, Sharabuddin family members, October 2010.

335 both hit by sniper rounds:Starkey, “Nato ‘Covered Up’ Botched Night Raid.”

335 “When my father went down”:Author interview, Abdul Ghafar, October 2010. All quotations attributed to Abdul Ghafar are from the author’s interviews, unless otherwise noted.

335 “When I ran outside”:Author interview, Mohammed Sabir, October 2010.

335 pregnant:Author interviews, Sharabuddin family members, October 2010. Early press reports, namely, the reporting of Jerome Starkey, also stated that two of the women were pregnant.

335 sixteen children among them:Richard A. Oppel Jr., “U.S. Admits Role in February Killing of Afghan Women,” New York Times , April 4, 2010.

336 prepared burial shrouds:Jerome Starkey, “Nato Accused of Cover Up over Killing of Pregnant Women,” Scotsman , March 13, 2010.

336 handcuffing them:Author copy of “briefing note” by United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Human Rights unit, dated February 14, 2010.

336 barefoot, on a brutal winter morning, their hands tied:Ibid.

336 assaulted by the US and Afghan team:Ibid. According to the UNAMA briefing note, “The same witness reported having seen at least 10 people, including the 65 year old house owner, being seriously assaulted by US and Afghan Forces.”

336 “They told us that they were informed”:Author interview, Hajji Sharabuddin, October 2010.

337 “suffered from cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment”:UNAMA briefing note. All information attributed to the UN is from this report, unless otherwise noted.

338 “hidden in an adjacent room”:“Joint Force Operating in Gardez Makes Gruesome Discovery,” ISAF Joint Command, February 12, 2010, accessed December 1, 2012, www.dvidshub.net/news/45240/joint-force-operating-gardez-makes-gruesome-discovery#.UOLyVBzKZcQ.

338 “criminals and terrorists”:“Afghan, International Force Kills Enemy Fighters,” American Forces Press Service, February 12, 2010.

338 men, women and children, medical support:“Joint Force Operating in Gardez Makes Gruesome Discovery.”

338 “It has the earmarks”:“Bodies Found Gagged, Bound After Afghan ‘Honor Killing,’” CNN.com, February 12, 2010.

338 Paktia Province police chief:Rob Norland, “Afghanistan: Different Accounts Offered About Civilian Deaths,” New York Times , February 13, 2010.

338 deep cuts and puncture wounds:Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Abdul Waheed Wafa, “Afghan Investigators Say U.S. Troops Tried to Cover Up Evidence in Botched Raid,” New York Times , April 5, 2010.

338 inaccurate, falsified tip-off:Lemar Niazai, “Intelligence Official Among Five Killed by NATO Troops,” Pajhwok Afghan News , February 12, 2010.

339 “We strongly condemn this”:Amir Shah, “NATO: Raid Killed Militants; Family Says Civilians,” Associated Press, February 12, 2010.

339 barred from entering:Starkey, “US Special Forces ‘Tried to Cover Up’ Botched Khataba Raid.”

339 “wouldn’t let us come near”:Laura King, “Probe Targets Elite Unit; an Inquiry into a Raid That Killed Five Afghan Civilians May Shed Light on the Role of U.S. Special Forces,” Los Angeles Times , April 9, 2010.

339 top criminal investigator:Starkey, “US Special Forces ‘Tried to Cover Up’ Botched Khataba Raid.”

339 “extraordinary and intriguing story”:Author interview, Jerome Starkey, October 2010. All quotations attributed to Jerome Starkey come from the author’s interview, unless otherwise noted.

340 denied having been a part of:Starkey, “Nato ‘Covered Up’ Botched Night Raid.”

340 “This operation was a mistake”:Starkey, “Nato Accused of Cover Up over Killing of Pregnant Women.”

340 should have left information:Ibid.

341 “You don’t have to be fired upon”:Starkey, “Nato ‘Covered Up’ Botched Night Raid.”

341 “categorically false”:“ISAF Rejects Cover Up Allegation,” International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), March 13, 2010, accessed December 12, 2012, www.dvidshub.net/news/46637/isaf-rejects-cover-up-allegation#.UOL9RhzKZcQ.

341 “Called up rival outlets”:Michael Hastings, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan (New York: Blue Rider Press, 2012), p. 294.

341 “The tapes, do not exist”:Jerome Starkey, “U.S.-led Forces in Afghanistan Are Committing Atrocities, Lying and Getting Away with It,” Nieman Watchdog (blog), March 22, 2010, www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=00440.

341 “I don’t want money”:Jerome Starkey, “Survivors of Family Killed in Afghanistan Raid Threaten Suicide Attacks,” Times (London), March 15, 2010.