"To fight insurgents, US turns to targeted killings; Shift could force Taliban leaders to negotiate" by Helene Cooper, New York Times | August 1, 2010
WASHINGTON — In the latest insurgent attack, a suicide bombing in northern Afghanistan yesterday killed three people, including a former militia commander who supported the Afghan government. The bomb, which went off at a football game in Kunduz, injured 19 others....
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"Dutch become the first from NATO to quit Afghanistan" by Robert H. Reid, Associated Press | August 2, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — A minibus full of civilians struck a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan early yesterday, and Afghan officials said six of those on board were killed....
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"Suicide bomber kills 6 Afghan children" by Associated Press | August 3, 2010
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A suicide car bomber blew himself up next to a police truck taking a southern Afghan official to work early yesterday, killing six children, officials said.
The blast went off at about 9 a.m. local time near a market area in Dand district to the west of Kandahar city, said the official who was targeted, district government chief Ahmadullah Nazak....
Well that sure stinks.
And so does the MSM explanation.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though it fits the pattern of Taliban attacks targeting government officials in the south. As additional US forces have poured into southern Taliban strongholds in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, insurgents have mounted a counter-campaign of bombings and assassinations aimed at those affiliated with the Afghan government.
Yeah, GOOD THING the U.S. isn't doing anything like that!
Also yesterday, militants attacked a second government official in the east. The convoy of a presidential adviser was hit by a remote-controlled bomb hidden in a rickshaw as it being pulled through Jalalabad city, said Ghafar Khan, a police spokesman in Nangarhar province....
That's Mossad's calling card!
In eastern Nuristan province, NATO and Afghan troops attacked two villages that had been held by Taliban fighters, killing more than 30 insurgents as they secured the Bachancha and Badmuk villages, NATO said in a statement. Two Afghan soldiers were killed, NATO said.
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"6 security guards stabbed to death in Afghanistan bank heist; Insurgents fail to storm NATO base in south" by Rahim Faiez, Associated Press | August 4, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — Six Afghan private security guards were poisoned and fatally stabbed during a bank robbery in northern Afghanistan, police said yesterday.
Meanwhile, insurgents wearing suicide vests tried to storm NATO’s largest base in the south, but did not breach its defenses, officials said.
In the east, a NATO service member was killed yesterday during an insurgent attack. The coalition did not release details about the death or identify the nationality of the service member....
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"In new guidance, Petraeus stresses troops’ self-defense; Order responds to complaints from the field" by Heidi Vogt and Amir Shah, Associated Press | August 5, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — Also yesterday, New Zealand said it suffered its first combat death of the war during an ambush a day earlier in one of Afghanistan’s most peaceful provinces.
This thing gets WORSE by the DAY!!
The Taliban claimed responsibility, raising concern that the insurgency is spreading beyond its strongholds even as US and NATO forces are ramping up the war against the insurgents in the south.
If that isn't the definition of losing....
The new guidance comes after widespread complaints from troops that rules laid down by former commander General Stanley McChrystal were putting them in danger and handing the advantage to the Taliban....
And with Puke-trayus' loosening of the alleged restrictions the civilian slaughter has gotten worse.
McChrystal stressed the need to reduce civilian casualties as a tool for winning the war — noting that every civilian killed in the crossfire created a legion of family members with a grudge against NATO forces and motivation to join the Taliban.
That is why we MUST LEAVE and PROFUSELY APOLOGIZE and BEG FOR FORGIVENESS on our way out.
Then we can think about reparations for the Afghans, America.
Under this guidance, NATO forces drastically restricted the use of airstrikes, which had previously been called in without knowledge of who was inside a building....
In other words, WE DON'T KNOW WHO is in that HOUSE!!
At least 2,412 Afghan civilians were killed in fighting last year — up 14 percent from 2008, according to the United Nations.
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Add some more to the totals:
"Civilian deaths in Afghan clash confirmed" by Amir Shah, Associated Press | August 6, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO acknowledged that an undetermined number of Afghan civilians were killed yesterday in fighting with the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan and promised to provide compensation to their families.
Related: What is a Dead Afghan Baby Worth?
How much is YOUR CHILD WORTH, American?
Also yesterday, a suicide car bomber struck a convoy of NATO troops and Afghan police in northern Afghanistan, killing seven police officers and wounding at least 11 people. A Canadian Chinook helicopter went down in the south, slightly injuring eight soldiers, the Canadian military said. The Taliban claimed they shot down the aircraft.
The civilian deaths occurred in two separate attacks before dawn yesterday in eastern Nangarhar Province, local officials said. Eight members of an extended family died when a helicopter opened fire on vehicles carrying the family and the body of a flood victim to their home village, according to Haji Mohammed Hassan, chief of Khogyani district of Nangarhar.
That is MURDER and a WAR CRIME -- as if the UNCOVERED FLOODS were NOT ENOUGH MISERY for the Afghans.
Separately, 13 people were killed when US and Afghan forces raided a compound in the Sherzad district, according to village elder Rahmatullah Sherzad.
NATO first reported....
Sherzad, the village elder, said by phone that the joint force surrounded the home of a villager, Mohammad Jan. Family members opened fire because they feared for their safety, he said, insisting they were not Taliban.
You know, I would probably do the same thing.
It's called DEFENDING YOURSELF!
Later, NATO issued a second statement....
Which one do you want to believe?
It made no mention of an air attack against vehicles.
Oh, they left something out, did they?
“Coalition forces deeply regret that our joint operation appears to have resulted in civilian loss of life and we express our sincerest condolences to the families,’’ said Rear Admiral Greg Smith, director of communication for the NATO-led force.
I'll bet Afghans are tired of hearing that broken record.
I'll bet they rather we just leave.
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