Red Cross confirms Afghan civilian toll

[azurnoir]

Source: LATimes

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan -- As the Red Cross confirmed Wednesday that dozens of civilians had been killed in U.S. airstrikes in an isolated district in western Afghanistan, provincial authorities suggested the toll could reach 100. Weeping villagers dug mass graves.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States "deeply regrets" the loss of life, but the American military said it had not yet determined who was responsible.

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross also traveled to the area, and a spokeswoman in Kabul, Jessica Barry, said Wednesday that there was little doubt that dozens of those killed in two locations were noncombatants. Many of the bodies seen being pulled from the rubble were those of women, children and elderly men, she said.

Western officials also point out, in frustration, that insurgents often target civilians in suicide bombings and other attacks, and also deliberately place them in harm's way during fighting.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-afghan-deaths7-2009may07,0,1518784.story?track=rss

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The best the State can come up with is "we're sorry but....."

[ShortnFiery]

1. Oh boy, and is it any wonder that the relatives of innocents killed by our bombs follow the Taliban?

In other words, we're creating more TERRORISTs than we are able to kill with each *innocent* blasted to Kibbles & Bits by our Not-so-smart-bombs.

Now "Where's the GD Wedding Party?! ... "the school? ... "Al Jazerra?" ... "the Red Cross?" :grr: :thumbsdown:




-------------

Haven't we killed enough INNOCENT people along with the alleged EVIL-DOERS?

When will it end?

[azurnoir]

3. I think the words "war crime" could apply n/t

[leftstreet]

2. K&R

[balantz]

4. O.K., let's see. Murder and maim in Iraq, murder and maim in Afghanistan.

And when they get done there, where can they go next with the biggest, baddest military the world has seen? Surely they will find more fragile, little expendible lives to destroy and build their evil empire on top of. I know, they can send more robots out to kill for them, that way it will be cowardly and sinister and "clinical". Wouldn't want the villagers to think they've gone soft now, would they?

"Ssshhh!!! Be vewy vewy quiet! Wew hunting Taliban!" (Or was it al Qaeda?)

[bc3000]

5. Seems a little suspicious

for this to happen right before Obama is to meet Karzai. Has Obama lost control of the military?

[No Elephants]

7. Are you assuming that it was our military who did this? And that they did it deliberately? I

grant you, both are possibilities, but let's wait a minute and a half before we conclude it wasn't the Taliban or Al Qaeeda.

Seems as though the victimes were disproportionately women, children and elderly, as opposed to fighting age males. Anybody could have taken these victims outs easily.

Then again, I guess we may never know for certain, but I think any of the combative groups could have done this.

[Igel]

8. Of course.

The US military says they didn't do it. Isn't that an admission of guilt?

And the villagers surrounded by Taliban say the US did it. They have absolutely no reason to lie--neither fear of the Taliban, anticipating compensation for the deaths, nor allegiance in blaming an outsider in order to avoid having to take up arms against the Taliban or be dishonored. No reason to lie at all.

We have all the iron-clad, verifiable facts we desire. All the forensic evidence, photographs, video, eye-witness testimony from unbiased and unimpeachable sources that we want.

Do I really need to add the emoticon?

[Wednesdays]

6. K&R

:kick: