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Pentagon Chief Says Sorry Over Afghan Child Deaths
[Tolo News] Pentagon Chief Robert Gates personally said sorry to President  Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai at a presser in Kabul on Monday. Hours after his arrival in Afghanistan the US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates appeared in a joint presser and described the death of nine children in eastern Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Binny's house in Chitral... by a Nato-led air raid as "heart breaking". Earlier President Karzai angrily rejected an apology from General David Petraeus, the US commander of Coalition forces in Afghanistan, over the incident. In a Nato air strike last Tuesday nine kids, under 12, were killed while gathering firewood in volatile eastern Kunar province. During the conference President Karzai respected the apology and called for civilian deaths to be stopped. Gates said the US troops will be preparing to start a limited withdrawal from Afghanistan in July as planned. But he underlined that US troops will not leave Afghanistan all together after July. Afghan cops are expected to take the lead of security in the country until 2014. But as foreign military officials have said before, all withrawal plans will be implemented based on conditions on the ground. Posted by: Fred 2011-03-08 |
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