9 kids found dead after U.S. air strike in Afghanistan

[muchacho]

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Nine children were found dead Saturday after an American air raid in eastern Afghanistan, and the military was investigating whether U.S. forces were responsible, a spokesman said.

An American A-10 aircraft struck a site south of Ghazni, 100 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul, where a ''known terrorist'' was believed to be hiding, Army Maj. Christopher E. West said.

''At the time we initiated the attack, we did not know there were children nearby,'' he said.

The target was a suspected militant believed responsible for the killing of two foreign contractors who were working on an Afghan road, West said. He did not identify the contractors and had no information about their deaths.

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http://www.suntimes.com/output/terror/cst-nws-afg07.html

[muchacho]

1. doh!

opps sorry, dupe.

[Kremer]

2. Please make it stop.

EVERY DAY, EVERY DAY, more people are dying in Afghan.&Iraq. I'm sick of it. I'm tired of this "known terrorist" crap. Sure, sure. So what? You here about 1 guy hiding out somewhere and so the policy is just shoot and bomb everything in that area. That's a damn war crime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When will it stop! And always when you ask the american commanders what happened, they all act like Homer Simpson and give a "duh I don't know" what we shot or killed response. Your the goddamn general in charge of command on the ground. If you don't know, WHO THE FUCK DOES! Gee, the other day in Iraq we knew every little detail. We even stopped and counted 54 dead insurgents. But when it comes to wiping out civilians, all of the sudden everything becomes foggy. Fucken bullshit. The military are the biggest and most notorious liars. They are also good at covering them up.

[Brucey]

6. I completely agree, and feel the same sense of hopelessness.

Is there no one in this world who will stand up to the bullies and hold them responsible for the war crimes that are being committed daily? Can't someone in authority say something? Can't the other countries of the world band together and impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on the US, and bring them to the world court? What the fuck is wrong with this world that NO ONE will speak out against the constant criminal activity of the Bush* administration???

[teryang]

3. This is a war crime

Use of a bomber to take out a guy with a rifle in a residence is a violation of the proportionality rule.

What does the killing of three children by a terrorist in Khandahar have to do with this war crime? Do their war crimes against their own people justify ours? That is the implicit message in this story.

"They're doing it too!" This is what a child says to justify wrongdoing.

I guess their intelligence wasn't too good if they didn't know the house was filled with children. One also has to take into consideration the known tendency of helo gunners to open fire in remote areas at whatever takes their fancy.

[0007]

4. Do ya think these guys give a rat's ass about foreign children?

[mbperrin]

5. OK, so a "known terrorist" is the same as a "suspected militant"

but we didn't know about 9 kids, don't know the name of the contractors or how they died, and we're not sure if we killed the kids or not.

Is Major West sure that's his own name? Usually they're sewed on the shirt pocket or above it somewhere.....

[ZenLefty]

7. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=256647&mesg_id=256647