Fewer Afghan civilians hurt: NATO

[Robb]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Despite their boosted deployment and increased losses, foreign forces have been inflicting relatively fewer Afghan civilian casualties due to more stringent rules of engagement, a top coalition spokesman said on Saturday. Winning over civilians while reinforcing and stepping up military sweeps of Taliban-held areas is a centerpiece of the strategy formed over the past year by U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan.

(snip)

Presenting data from the last three months compared to the same period in 2009, ISAF spokesman Brigadier-General Josef Blotz said there were 7.8 percent fewer clashes involving civilians, with 44.4 percent fewer killed or wounded by coalition troops.

"There is more oversight. There is better training and education," Blotz said in explanation. "And there are of course a couple of ongoing programs, for example, in the area of escalation of force procedures, because these contacts in the past were one of the major sources, if I may say so, of civilian casualties."

Some 82 percent fewer civilians have been falling casualty to ISAF air strikes, and 52 percent fewer have been accidentally shot by coalition troops, Blotz told a press conference.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65I0LF20100619

---

Yeah, I know. But fewer is better than more.

[Go2Peace]

1. Interesting Statement, just before Wikileaks will post the video

They are trying to get ahead of the story.