US touts "soft-knock" policy in Afghanistan

Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, the U.S.-led coalition's operational commander in Afghanistan, has responded publicly to recent, repeated complaints by President Hamid Karzai about the US military presence in his country.

In response to claims that US-led searches and bombing campaigns were unnecessary and abusive, Kamiya said that bombing has been decisive and accurate, and that searches are now always jointly conducted with Afghan troops. Additionally, Kamiya touted the US "soft-knock" policy:

"When we do have to violate the sanctity of an Afghan family's compound, we do so in a soft-knock manner, a very courteous manner, asking permission first and having Afghan forces doing the searches," he said.

"Of course, there are some operations, because of intelligence or time sensitivity or the nature of the target that we are after, (that) preclude this level of coordination. But those instances are becoming less frequent."