Losing the War in Afghanistan, One Civilian Massacre at a Time

[unhappycamper]

Losing the War in Afghanistan, One Civilian Massacre at a Time
by Brian Cloughley | Jun 30 2007 - 9:06am


"One of the problems is sometimes determining who exactly caused the casualties. It's not always clear if a civilian casualty is caused by an extremist or coalition forces."
-- Major Chris Belcher, US spokesman, Afghanistan, June 23 2007

So it isn't easy to tell whether civilians are killed by insurgents or foreign forces in Afghanistan? When they are slaughtered by "precision" bombing by B52s or rockets from attack helicopters or shells from artillery or missiles from drones, it is presumably because the Afghan insurgents also operate all these means of dealing death. Six kids killed by air attacks?  It must have been these hi-tech Afghans who fly B52s at 30,000 feet. Or maybe some other Afghans who zoom down from the sky and mercilessly rocket villages.

They don't? Well that's hardly surprising. Because according to Associated Press, "US-led coalition and NATO forces fighting insurgents in Afghanistan have killed at least 203 civilians so far this year, surpassing the 178 civilians killed in militant attacks." NATO forces (commanded by a US general) and US forces operating outside the NATO structure in Afghanistan say they do not keep count of the number of civilians they kill, and admit to their slaughter only when it is absolutely impossible to deny that it has taken place. (The number wiped out by special forces cannot be assessed as these people are accountable to nobody and obey no laws. They assassinate at will and with impunity.)

Here is a typical absurdity. It concerns the killing of 25 civilians including nine women and three children on June 22 :

"ISAF said the target of the strike was a compound "assessed to have been occupied by up to 30 insurgent fighters, most of whom were killed in the engagement. ISAF troops are now investigating reports that a small number of civilians may also have been in the compound," it said in a statement." (AFP)

Right. Now tell us, you geniuses, exactly how you know that "most" of the "up to 30" alleged insurgents were killed? If you didn't know that civilians were in the compound, and if you don't know that civilians were killed, how do you know that the people you killed were insurgents? Were they wearing uniforms? Did you send anyone into the compound to identify the bodies?

The usual approach, once it has proved impossible to deny any longer that civilians have been killed, is for the military to blame the insurgents : "In choosing to conduct such attacks in this location at this time, the risk to civilians was probably deliberate," said another spokesman, Colonel Smith, who then announced that "It is this irresponsible action that may have led to casualties."


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[Spazito]

1. I can't help but wonder if the "insurgents" wear tags on their

clothing or have a tattoo that says "I am an insurgent and not an innocent civilian". If they don't, how can the military state so emphatically those killed WERE insurgents and not innocent civilians.

Hmmm, could it be anyone they kill is automatically an "insurgent", period?