"NATO airstrike kills dozens in Afghanistan; Coalition begins inquiry into attack" by M. Karim Faiez and Laura King, Los Angeles Times | September 5, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - In an incident that could seriously undermine the central aim set forth by the new US commander in Afghanistan, dozens of Afghan civilians were killed and injured yesterday in an airstrike by NATO-led forces on two hijacked fuel tankers, according to Afghan authorities.
The predawn strike in a remote part of northern Kunduz Province, near the border with Tajikistan, killed more than 70 people, most of them civilians, according to Afghan police, provincial officials, and doctors. Dozens of villagers suffered serious burns in the fireball ignited when the tankers were hit, they said....
In the initial hours after yesterday’s strike, Western military officials expressed confidence that nearly all those killed had been insurgents. But reports trickling in from the scene painted a grim picture of impoverished villagers engulfed by the explosion as they swarmed the stranded tankers, trying to siphon fuel.
The strike was called in by German troops, who make up the bulk of Western forces deployed in Kunduz, and involvement in such an act could depress already flagging domestic support in Germany for the Afghan mission....
Days earlier, Western military officials had touted figures showing a dramatic drop in civilian casualties inadvertently caused by Western troops, crediting strict new rules of engagement for declines in deaths during July and August....
The hijack drama began Thursday night when militants suspected of belonging to the Taliban commandeered two tanker trucks as they traveled along a main road. In recent months, NATO has been sending supplies into Afghanistan via Tajikistan, to the north, after Taliban militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas repeatedly attacked what had been the most widely used supply route, running through the Khyber Pass.
After the hijacking, the trucks were tracked via aerial surveillance to a spot near the village of Omar Khel, where they became stuck when the hijackers tried to drive them across a riverbed. Western military officials said they believed there were no civilians in the area....
Some Afghan officials said the Taliban encouraged local people to take advantage of the bonanza on their doorstep, alerting villagers in the middle of the night to the stranded trucks’ presence. The initial casualty tally was provided by local officials, including pro-Western provincial Governor Mohammed Omar, who said many of the 70-plus dead were civilians. That number, which has fluctuated, could change again as the investigation continues.
The handling of the aftermath will be a test for McChrystal and his inner circle. In the past, denials and a slow pace of investigation by US and Western forces in the face of large-scale civilian casualties have further inflamed sentiment against the coalition.
You READ the QUOTATION that started this post, right?
It is not uncommon for such incidents to end with disagreement between Afghan and Western officials about the scope and nature of civilian casualties.
Or for the American media to drop the damn thing.
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And I doubt this will help:
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan - The top NATO commander confirmed yesterday that civilians were wounded by a devastating airstrike targeting insurgents in northern Afghanistan, a major test of his policy to curb airpower to reduce civilian casualties and win over Afghans to the war against the Taliban.
General Stanley McChrystal waded through a knee-deep river to inspect the charred wreckage of two fuel tankers destroyed in the Friday attack, which Afghan officials say killed about 70 people. It was unclear how many were Taliban and how many were villagers who rushed to the scene to siphon fuel from the stolen trucks.
McChrystal visited the site, about 100 miles north of Kabul, as European leaders already nervous about the escalating war demanded answers. Some called the airstrike - requested by the Germans and carried out by US jets - “a tragedy’’ and “a big mistake’’ that must be investigated....
How about a MASS-MURDERING WAR CRIME, how about that?
Related:
[In the many videos that have been released from the bombing runs, it is obvious when there are crowds of people, as opposed to small groups of fighters. The Pakistani news reports that these people were lined-up to receive the fuel that was being drained from the broken-down tanker truck. The pilot knew what would happen to those 90 Afghans when he detonated 5-10 thousand gallons of gasoline in their midst. He should be charged with mass murder. Perhaps this will move Germany to pull its support for the butchery of the American program.]
--source--"
McChrystal’s reference to 120 people at the site suggests that officials believe civilians died because militants rarely congregate in such numbers.
NATO officials said a B-1 bomber first spotted the two stolen trucks and the dozens of people around them. The B-1 was low on fuel and had to return to base, but the two F-15Es arrived 20 minutes later....
After touring the bomb site - where villagers’ yellow fuel cans still littered the river bank - McChrystal paid a somber visit to the Kunduz hospital, where he stooped low to talk with a 10-year-old boy whose arms and legs were swathed in gauze....
Civilian casualties have dogged the US and NATO mission in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.... Friday’s bombing threatened a major setback....
The bombing also sent shock waves through Germany ahead of national elections Sept. 27. Opposition politicians called for a thorough investigation, even as the defense minister insisted all the dead were militants. German officials have insisted everyone killed in the attack were militants. Other NATO officials, though, have conceded that civilians most likely died as well....US Rear Admiral Gregory J. Smith, McChrystal’s top spokesman.... said a preliminary review of surveillance video showed that 56 people died in the explosion. No US or NATO official would say how many of those killed might have been civilians.... Smith said the upcoming investigation would show if any language barriers between the Germans and the American pilots played a role.
Yeah, blame a MISCOMMUNICATION for the MASS MURDER!
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Of course, IF WE WERE NOT THERE those people would STILL BE ALIVE today!!
TIME to COME HOME, America!!!!!!!!
