US commandos are reportedly arming and training surrogates without checking their human rights records
American special forces have trained up foreign proxy fighters and sent them on \u201ckill-or-capture\u201d missions without ascertaining whether they have histories of rape, torture, extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing newly disclosed Pentagon documents.
Such surrogates are paid, equipped and deployed without any vetting required to verify that they have a clean human rights record, according to documents obtained by the NYT. The \u201cgap in rules\u201d applies to proxy forces hired to carry out counterterrorism missions, as well as to allied forces who are trained under an irregular warfare program designed to help countries that are at risk of invasion by larger neighbors.
One such clandestine mission in Ukraine was allegedly terminated just before Russia launched a military operation against Kiev forces in February 2022, but some officials want to restart it, according a Washington Post report earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To skirt compliance with a law banning security assistance to forces with a history of human rights violations, the Pentagon has interpreted its proxy programs as not aiding its foreign allies, the Times said. Rather, proxy forces are equipped to pursue US objectives, not to build up the defense capabilities of their own countries. The legal tactic is \u201ca dishonest reading of the plain text and intention of Congress,\u201d former Pentagon lawyer Sarah Harrison told the newspaper.
US special forces have increasingly relied on proxy fighters in such countries as Niger and Somalia in recent years. By moving away from direct deployments of American ground troops, like those sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington seeks to avert US casualties and avoid being seen as an occupier, according to the report. However, the strategy also carries risks, particularly without proper vetting.
\u201cWe need to make sure that we are not training abusive units to become even more lethal and fueling the conflict and violence that we\u2019re aiming to solve,\u201d said US Representative Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat. \u201cAnd that starts with universal human rights vetting.\u201d
The Pentagon\u2019s so-called Section 127e program allows US special forces to spend up to $100 million a year on counterterrorism proxies. The Section 1202 program for irregular warfare has a $15 million annual budget.
The latter program involves \u201cdisrupting nation-state rivals\u201d without armed conflict, the Times said. It involves acts of sabotage and hacking, as well as \u201cpropaganda or clandestine efforts to shape morale.\u201d
A Pentagon official told the Times that proxy forces are screened to ensure that they aren\u2019t a threat to spy against the US or attack American troops. While that vetting doesn\u2019t check specifically for rights abuses \u2013 such as rape, torture or \u201cextrajudicial\u201d killings \u2013 the official said it\u2019s sufficient to \u201cweed out bad actors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n