U.S. outrage and resignation over Afghans’ rape of boys

WASHINGTON — A report describing how American forces looked the other way as powerful Afghans raped boys with impunity — an issue that long plagued the war effort in Afghanistan — prompted declarations of outrage in Washington, but officials said the problem was ultimately for Afghans to solve.

The Pentagon insisted that it never ordered troops to ignore any kind of rights abuse. But among U.S. military personnel and civilians who served in Afghanistan, it was well known that many wealthy and prominent Afghans rape boys, often making them dress up as women and dance at gatherings dur- ing which they are assaulted — and that Western officials often turned a blind eye to the practice for fear of alienating allies.

With the bulk of U.S. troops now gone from Afghanistan, the resignation among U.S. officials over a practice that many described as “abhorrent” was evident on Monday. It seemed to reflect the fact that while the rape of boys may shock foreigners and infuriate Afghans, it is only one of the many problems in Afghanistan.

Over the 14 years since the start of the war, the criminality often tolerated inside the Afghan government and security forces, both of which were paid for and nurtured by the United States, has run the gamut from opium smuggling and corruption by Afghan officials to allegations of murder and torture by Afghan soldiers and police officers.

In many cases, especially with drug trafficking and corruption, the response from U.S. officials has often been that ordinary Afghans do not view the problems the way Westerners do, and that trying to clean up the Afghan government could well destroy it.

Cases of torture and murder by the Afghan security forces, which have been documented by human rights groups and the news media, have often been overlooked for fear of undercutting the fight against the Taliban and al Qaida.

Though some Americans have tried to write off the practice of raping boys, which was described in an article in The New York Times on Monday, as a cultural difference between Afghans and Westerners, many Afghans say that they, too, find it shameful and wrong. (In fact, the Taliban banned it when in power.)

But it is rampant among the pro-government commanders who dominate many rural areas of northern Afghanistan and run militias that at times team with U.S.-led forces. As a result, the U.S. military long struggled with how to handle cases of pedophilia that its troops encountered. Most often, according to troops who served in Afghanistan, the solution was to ignore the practice.

On Monday, U.S. officials said they would never tolerate sexual assaults of boys by Afghan security forces.

“The United States is deeply concerned about the safety and welfare of Afghan boys who may be exploited by members of the Afghan national security and defense forces,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary. “This form of sexual exploitation violates Afghan law and Afghanistan’s international obligations.”