Civilians massacred in Afghanistan air strike

An Afghan police chief says 25 civilians, including nine women, three children and Twenty suspected Taliban insurgents, have been killed in a NATO airstrike in southern Helmand province in Afghanistan. (Click on photo for full story).
An Afghan police chief says 25 civilians, including women and children, have been killed in a NATO airstrike in southern Helmand province.

Provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal says Taliban forces staged an attack late Thursday in Gereshk district against NATO forces, sparking clashes and airstrikes. The police chief said among the dead are nine women, three children and 20 suspected Taliban insurgents.

NATO spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Smith says the alliance is concerned about reports of civilian deaths, but blamed the Taliban, saying militants initiated the violence.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said NATO and the separate U.S.-led coalition must do more to stop the killing of civilians during military operations against insurgents.

This week, a coalition of Afghan and western aid agencies said 230 civilians have been killed this year alone, caught up in the crossfire of military operations by international forces in Afghanistan.

NATO officials have said they are examining ways to prevent civilian deaths. They have also stressed that Taliban attacks have endangered innocent Afghans.


Civilians massacred in Afghanistan air strike
it appears that nato forces and the separate US-led coalitionmust do more to stop killing of civiliansduring military operations against insurgents. random fire by allied forces against insurgent vital areas by unthinking allied forces brings unnecessary death by misdirected attack weapons. It is apparent that these forces NATO and the US-led coalition forces are uncaring and are indeed aware of the civilian presence during these raids. They merely consider this a sacrifice of civilians to achieve a possible maiming of insurgents. They may indeed consider this sacrifice a depletion of possible future inductees into the Taliban. president Hamid Karzai expresses concern. More should be done to force an excplanation from the NATO and US forces for their repetitive application of directing bombs into civilian areas . Is this measure by intent as it is beginning to appear to be brought on by fear factor of a cowardly force of NATO and the US -led coalition enemies of the afgan society per se. dehenderson1@hotmail.com password nuisance

Reply to: Civilians massacred in Afghanistan air strike

Quote:
It is apparent that these forces NATO and the US-led coalition forces are uncaring and are indeed aware of the civilian presence during these raids.

If the above were truly the case, the war on terror would have been over a year after it started and the planet would be less a few tens of millions of folks. I realize it is a new concept, but try to think before posting. You’ll look a lot less like an idiot

Clean Afghanistan
The state of Afghanistan has to be cleaned of al-quaida terrorists, no matter how many “civilians” die. It could take a few decades, but this thing has to be done to establish/restore the laws of the human as human beings. - Ram


Reality check...?
Simply, “War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things..." I would not think the strategy of the Coalition was to use the big guns in areas of population concentration. Certainly they were to be used against the “bad guys” in the open areas only after they had been flushed out and away from the built up areas ( I don’t KNOW that but, it would be an available tactic). I’m certain that the commander of that mission has been on “the carpet” already (or will be within hours of returning from the field) to have his “guts spilled”. It will take him yet another day or more to prepare his report while also having another staff member collect other eyewitness reports from his subordinate commanders and their men in preparation for proceedings, probably against him. Great White North, we have no opposing “troops”; that would be too easy if there were. Fighting “man to man” IS what they try to do but, I don’t think we want to institute a draft on you and your friends to provide the number of people that would really be necessary to saturate the terrain with men for a step backwards in warfare. I wouldn’t get too upset at what Mr. Karzai is quoted as saying in this acticle either. Here is a leader that has promised money, government support, to farmers that would not grow poppies and has failed to deliver the goods. Those farmers can feed their families for a whole year (or a little more) on one poppy crop but, for only a couple seasons from a crop of corn, hay or whatever. Mr. Karzai’s ANA and ABP that he wants us to “build” (in other words, supply with arms, ammo, aircraft and equipment AND years of training and continued civil aide for roads and dams etc) is comprised of people that are tribalistic (figure the social impact of that in THIS country), corrupt and suffer from a severe lack of education and global understanding. Also, the insurgents are of no apparent harm to the Afghanis. What is not apparent is that the taliban is like any other dictatorship and thrives only by controlling its subjects via indoctrination and then continued mis-information. Americans suffer from information overload and so much regurgitated strong media opinion that it’s impossible for them to ferret out the truth without spending an inordinant amount of time in research. The Afghanis don’t have media, internet and information overload. Most could spend the entire day concerned with nothing other than hoing a row of crop or keeping a watchful eye on their flock of making dung patties for the next weeks fire. They don’t know us and they don’t care because every single day is an effort to survive the next. They don’t have CNN, the AP or the NY Times to tell them to care about violence in America or Darfur or global warming or life on mars. If CNN, the AP and the NY Times were there to tell them, they would have niether the time to care nor the means to do a thing about any of it, let alone the money to buy their products!!!. Predominantly, the only affluence in Afghnaistan is with the war-lords or others that do business with the taliban (sorry for the broad sketch statment). We are in Afghanistan to protect America. The byproduct of that “service” is the strengthening of Afghanistan’s economy, infrastructure, a whole lot of humanitariana aide and some exposure to a world outside their own. It’s too bad the Afghani civilians were KIA; I’m gald it wasn’t my wife and children killed, nor yours, while here in America.



Civilians used as human shields by Talibans.
The coward Irani & Pakistani Secret Gorilla forces in the name of “Talibans” are using the civilians as hostage and using them as human shields against NATO forces. It is better to attack Islamabd and Tehran instead of a cat & rat games in Afghanistan.
Only Real Option To prevent civilian deaths-N.A.

anti-tigerbalm;32613:
If the above were truly the case, the war on terror would have been over a year after it started and the planet would be less a few tens of millions of folks. I realize it is a new concept, but try to think before posting. You’ll look a lot less like an idiot.

If the troops would just quit using the big guns, if the only casualties are to be troops and insurgents then we have to give up our weapon advantage and go mano-a-mano, no planes, no artillery, thus fewer civilian deaths. Arm-chair battles always have colateral damage, so if the troops really want to prevent civilian deaths they should be fighting on the ground, face to face. there that thought, put into a plan to save civilian lives, now which country/nation would do this. They are there to protect the people right?