WEBVTT

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Brigadier General Carsten Jacobsen

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german army , I am the ISIS spokesman .

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Well , nighttime raids have been a

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subject of discussion for many weeks

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and actually for a long period now they

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are used as a means to arrest

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particularly dangerous leaders of the

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insurgency in an operation by

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forces under cover of night , arresting

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them at a time when it is most secure

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when most people in the villages and in

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the area are in bed . So the chances

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for collateral damage is minimised .

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Night operations in general are running

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without a single shot fired . As a

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matter of fact , in more than 85% of

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all nitrates , not a single shot is

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fired . They are always partnered with

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afghan soldiers . They are in great

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many ways the safest form of operation

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to arrest high risk insurgents in their

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houses in the areas where they are

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hiding and bringing them into attention .

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They have been contentious though ,

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over the last weeks , months and even

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years because it means an intrusion

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into an afghan house .

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Nitrates are happening basically every

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night . We have different types of

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nitrates that are determined by the

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target , but they are happening at a

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rate of anything between , let us say

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seven and 15 tonight . So it is

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considerable number of nitrates that

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are executed on a regular basis . Their

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aim is to detain high risk high

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risk insurgents in the environment

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where they are mostly sleeping in the

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early morning hours of the day . It

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means that a team of specially trained

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soldiers go to the location , enter the

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location if it is necessary and the

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individual does not come out on the

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call out , which normally happens in

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advance and then arrest the individual

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and secure any evidence that has to be

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secured . They have been contentious

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because it means that soldiers enter an

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afghan household . That is why for a

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long period now the program of Afghan

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izing nitrates bringing afghan soldiers

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to the forefront and have afghan

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soldiers doing the call out of the

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individual and entering the household

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have been one of the highest priorities

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when it comes to the context with night

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operations . It is a program that is

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well underway . All night raids

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basically today are already partnered

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with afghan security forces and

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in the majority afghan national

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Security forces are the ones who are

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actually executing this critical bit .

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The entering of the house .

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Yeah , afghan ization of night

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operations has been a major task for

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recent months . It has been a

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continuous process of increasing more

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and more The participation of afghan

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national Security Forces in this type

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of operation . Let me recall that

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tragic event in august last year Where

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CH 47 was downed and

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the forces on board of that helicopter

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all died seals on the American side ,

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but also seven Afghan special warriors .

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As tragic as that event was . It is a

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clear sign that already then we had a

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high proportion of afghan special Force

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warriors participating in this type of

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operations . However , the memorandum

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of understanding that is underway and

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due to be signed shortly from now and

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well underway in the discussion will

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regulate the legal framework and the

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afghan role in this type of operation

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and therefore bring us a great step

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forward in the afghan ization of night

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operations themselves .

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All that is part of the discussion for

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the memorandum of understanding and the

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majority of the cases the operation is

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conducted under the law of armed

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conflict as we are going after an

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individual where we see a connection

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and have credible intelligence that

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this individual is playing an important

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role in the insurgency . Night

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operations and general aim for the

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middle leadership of the insurgency

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that is . Leaders leaders , middle

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managers , facilitators , bomb

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specialists , bomb builders . The

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effect on the insurgency has been quite

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considerable in taking these

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specialists away from the battlefield .

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But the legal question , what is the

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legal framework often arrest being

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undertaken ? And how are the rules

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about holding the individual after the

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night raid ? When does what handover

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has to participate ? Is part of the

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discussion about the memorandum of

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understanding ?

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Well , the negotiations are conducted

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by the United States , by the U . S .

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Embassy with the Afghan government . Uh

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Of course they affect SdF's operation .

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But how this negotiations are going at

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the moment are primarily a question

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between the Government of the United

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States and the Government of

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Afghanistan . However , to our

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understanding , we are very close to

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closing the deal

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night operations target a special group

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of people based on intelligence . They

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are targeting medium leadership

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and people of qualification within the

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insurgency , on the results of

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intelligence leaders . Group leaders ,

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leaders of local local gangs of

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insurgents , special facilitators who

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are facilitating the insurgency with

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weapons and specialists like specialist

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bomb builders are the typical target

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for a night operation . Night

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operations must not be mixed up with

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normal combat operations that occur At

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night as normal conduct of operations

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goes for 24 hours . And of course we

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are using our advantage and technology

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in the night . In the fight against

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insurgency . The night operations that

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we are talking about are targeted

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against individuals . They are targeted

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against specialists . They are targeted

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against middle leadership and they play

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a vital role in the fight against the

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insurgency and in the reduction of the

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insurgency in its capability to run its

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operations and to lead on the middle

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level on the battlefield .

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Well like classically with an

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insurgency , it is sometimes very

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difficult to say who is actually what .

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Somebody who is a specialist in bomb

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building might also be the leader of a

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small team . The leader of a small team

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or three or 4 men who were planting

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bombs in a particular volatile area or

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who are planning assassination attempts .

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In a particular dangerous situation

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where intelligence shows this is a

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target of high priority might be of

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higher priority than somebody who is

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actually a local leader of a larger

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group of insurgents . So therefore the

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decision has to be made . What is the

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target of priority ? It is the middle

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leadership , as we all know , the high

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leaders of the insurgency are not in

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Afghanistan , they are hiding outside

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the country and they are not taking the

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risk of risk of direct conflict . It is

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the middle leadership that runs the

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insurgency in country . It is those who

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command small groups who provide

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special knowledge , who provide finance

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streams and weaponry to the insurgency .

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They are the ones that a night

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operation will go after . As soon as

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intelligence gives us clear indications ,

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it is then a process in close

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cooperation with the afghans and as I

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said , all night operations now

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partnered with the afghans and that

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being even more so after the memorandum

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of understanding with an increasing

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afghan role and afghan face in night

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operations , they are the typical

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target . They are the ones that are

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taken off the battlefield and this

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considerably over recent years

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diminished the capability of the

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insurgency to lead and to execute

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attacks .

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Yes , you shall . And happy easter to

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you . Deborah ,

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thank you