us military knowingly sided with afghani child rapists  the united states has long known about the prevalence of bacha bazi among its partners in the ansf. it is clear that the u.s. department of defense was aware, by 2009 at the latest, of coercive relationships between men and boys on u.s. military bases in afghanistan. billions of dollars were spent in order to ensure that the partnership between u.s. forces and ansf had sufficient capacity to manage and maintain the internal security throughout afghanistan. in the development of a security sector assistance plan, the u.s. overlooked multiple instances of criminal activity and gross human rights violations, including the sexual abuse of children on military bases.  the rampant nature of bacha bazi in some regions risked the legitimacy of the afghan government in the eyes of afghan civilians and undermines washingtons reputation and that of americas multilateral international partners. this will have long-term impacts well after the united states has completed its troop drawdown. over the decades of the american military presence in afghanistan, the u.s. has continuously turned a blind eye to the ansfs and northern alliances insistence that the current iteration of bacha bazi is afghan culture, when in reality these groups are co-opting a historical practice in order to traffic and sexually abuse vulnerable afghan boys. the continued and unquestioned support of the ansf puts at risk long-term goals for stability and peace in afghanistan, which the u.s. should continue to emphasize through foreign aid.   r/gender-as-an-analytical-tool-for- foreign-policy/what-about-the-boys- a-gendered-analysis-of-the-u-s-with drawal-and-bacha-bazi-in-afghanista n/
United States