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| Afghanistan |
| Allies Restrict Airstrikes on Taliban in Civilian Homes |
| 2012-06-11 |
| Worse even than the Cambodian sanctuaries we granted to the North Vietnamese - the Taliban now can take safe shelter pretty much anywhere in Afghanistan. Get our people out now. The senior allied commander in Afghanistan has ordered new restrictions on airstrikes against Taliban fighters who hide in residential homes, coalition officials said Sunday, a move in response to a NATO attack in the eastern part of the country last week that Afghan officials say killed 18 civilians. The joint Afghan-NATO raid last week was hunting a Taliban commander and some of his fighters who had holed up in a home in Logar Province where a wedding had taken place, according to local residents. An early-morning firefight broke out between the coalition troops and the insurgents, with the civilians trapped inside. The coalition decided to call in an airstrike, which killed the insurgents but also 18 civilians, including 9 children, Afghan officials said. In other words, we got the guys we were hunting, but also hit their invisible human shields, so now we can't go hunting anymore. Get out people out now. After a meeting on Saturday between Mr. Karzai, General Allen and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker of the United States to discuss the issue, aides to Mr. Karzai released a statement saying that General Allen had pledged to halt attacks altogether on residential areas and homes. |
| Posted by:Glenmore |
| #4 Maybe we can find the military bases the Taliban is using? |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2012-06-11 20:10 |
| #3 ...aides to Mr. Karzai released a statement saying that General Allen had pledged to halt attacks altogether on residential areas and homes. Hmmmmmmm...so where do ya think they're gonna go? Anybody know anything about Allen? He doesn't seem all that bright. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2012-06-11 19:25 |
| #2 Agreed - it is considered a war crime to attack civilian targets. However, if soldiers hide among civilians - using them as human shields - they are the war criminals, not the attackers. The first Americans out of Afghanistan should be Karzai's security detail. See how brave he is then. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2012-06-11 18:31 |
| #1 Is there any other type of home? I too say get our soldiers out now! |
| Posted by: Mikey Hunt 2012-06-11 16:18 |