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-- Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
Here's what undermines American and NATO campaign in Afghanistan, and this is not the first nor the second or third time I read something like this:
quote:
American forces fleeing a militant ambush opened fire on civilians on a busy highway in eastern Afghanistan, those wounded in the violence told The Associated Press.
Up to 16 people were killed and 34 were wounded on the same day that two NATO soldiers were killed in an unrelated incident.
More than half a dozen Afghans who were struck by bullets told The Associated Press that the American troops started shooting indiscriminately as they tried to flee along a 10-kilometre stretch of highway.
The alleged incident happened after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-filled minivan near the U.S. convoy.
The route -- one of the busiest in the region, is often filled with cars and trucks and Afghans on bicycles and on foot.
"They were firing everywhere, and they even opened fire on 14 to 15 vehicles passing on the highway," said Tur Gul, 38, who was standing on the roadside near a gas station and was shot twice in his right hand. "They opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot."
Mohammed Khan Katawazi, the district chief of Shinwar, told AP that the U.S. soldiers treated every vehicle and person on the busy highway as a potential attacker.
The U.S. military has acknowledged casualties occurred, but has not yet determined whether American soldiers were responsible.
Maj. William Mitchell, a U.S. military spokesman, said militants launched a "complex" attack, firing at the coalition forces from three different points after the suicide bomb.
A military statement said the troops returned fire as they fled.
"We certainly believe it's possible that the incoming fire from the ambush was wholly or partly responsible for the civilian casualties," he said.
Reports on the number of casualties have varied widely.
The U.S. military said 16 civilians were killed and 24 wounded "during the initial attack."
Ajmel Pardus, the Nangarhar provincial health chief, said eight people were killed, including a woman and two boys, and 34 were wounded. Four of the injured were in critical condition, he said.
One U.S. soldier was also wounded in the clash.
After the incident, angry demonstrations erupted in the region which is located roughly 50 kilometres west of the Pakistan border.
Hundreds of Afghans blocked the road and threw rocks at police, with some demonstrators shouting "Death to America! Death to Karzai," referring to President Hamid Karzai.
Victims at the Jalalabad hospital told AP they followed U.S. orders to pull over as the fleeing convoy approached, but were still hit by gunfire.
"When we parked our vehicle, when they passed us, they opened fire on our vehicle," said 15-year-old Mohammad Ishaq, who was hit by two bullets, in his left arm and his right ear. "It was a convoy of three American humvees. All three humvees were firing around."
In the next bed, Ahmed Najib, 23, was recovering from a bullet in his right shoulder.
"One American was in the first vehicle, shouting to stop on the side of the road, and we stopped. The first vehicle did not fire on us, but the second opened fire on our car," he said, adding that his 2-year-old brother was grazed by a bullet on his cheek.
"I saw them turning and firing in this direction, then turning and firing in that direction. I even saw a farmer shot by the Americans."
Meanwhile, two NATO soldiers have been reported killed in southern Afghanistan.
There is no word yet on how the NATO soldiers were killed.
An AP photographer and camera operator said the U.S. military later deleted photos and video taken by them, though neither had witnessed the suicide attack or resulting gunfire and weren't sure why their pictures had been deleted.
The U.S. forces involved in the attack and ensuing gunfire were part of the U.S.-led coalition, not NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
A man claiming to speak for Hezb-e-Islami, a group he said is linked with the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Meanwhile, two NATO soldiers were killed in an unrelated attack.
Not details have been revealed about the incident in Helmand province, but NATO has confirmed the two soldiers killed were not Canadians.
The International Security Assistance Force hasn't identified their nationalities or said where or how the deaths happened.
Canada's troops operate in Kandahar province, while British troops are based in neighbouring Helmand province.
British troops have been involved in a number of clashes with the Taliban in recent weeks.
http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/Si...detect=&abc=abc
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| US troops kill Afghan civilians Local people accused the US soldiers of targeting civilians An incident described by US forces in Afghanistan as a "complex ambush" has left at least eight civilians dead. The incident occurred on the road from the eastern city of Jalalabad to Pakistan when a suicide bomber targeted a convoy, sparking a fire fight. US officials initially said 16 people had been killed. They did not explain the lower, revised death toll. Thousands of local people took to the streets, accusing the Americans of deliberately firing on the civilians. Separately, Nato said two British soldiers had been killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan. Spring offensive The US military said a minibus containing explosives was driven at the convoy, injuring one soldier. US troops were then attacked from several directions and returned fire in defence of the patrol. The [US troops] opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot Tur Gul, injured civilian UK soldiers killed Thousands of people gathered to demonstrate against the shooting, shouting "Death to America, Death to Karzai", referring to the Afghan president, and blaming the US patrol for shooting passers-by. US military spokesman Maj William Mitchell said: "We certainly believe it's possible that the incoming fire from the ambush was wholly or partly responsible for the civilian casualties." However, Mohammad Khan Katawazi, chief of Shinwar district, said the US troops treated everyone as a potential attacker even if they had no evidence. One injured civilian, Tur Gul, told the Associated Press news agency: "They opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot." "When we parked our vehicle, when they passed us, they opened fire on our vehicle," said Mohammad Ishaq, 15, who was also hit by bullets. The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says there has been a huge increase in the number of suicide attacks over the past 12 months, but a coordinated ambush is relatively rare. He says there have also been other demonstrations in the same province, Nangarhar, recently, mainly at opium poppy eradication by government officials. The two British servicemen killed in southern Afghanistan died in the Sangin area of Helmand province on Saturday. Twenty foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year. Nato fears that Taleban violence will escalate in several areas of Afghanistan as the winter snows thaw. Nato commanders have said they need more soldiers to tackle the expected spring offensive. Last Tuesday at least nine people were killed in a suicide bombing at the main US base in Afghanistan, Bagram near Kabul, during a visit by US Vice-President Dick Cheney. |
It gets worse:
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U.S. Soldiers Threaten Journos, Delete Images in Afghanistan Published: March 04, 2007 1:20 PM ET updated 6:00 PM KABUL Afghan journalists -- some working for the Associated Press -- covering the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack and shooting in eastern Afghanistan Sunday said U.S. troops deleted their photos and video and warned them not to publish or air any images of U.S. troops or a car where three Afghans were shot to death. Afghan witnesses and gunshot victims said U.S. forces fired on civilians in cars and on foot along at least a six-mile stretch of road in Nangarhar province following a suicide attack against the Marine convoy. The U.S. military said militants also fired on American forces during the attack. The U.S. military and Afghan officials said eight Afghans died and 34 were wounded in the violence. One Marine was also injured. A freelance photographer working for The Associated Press and a cameraman working for AP Television News said a U.S. soldier deleted their photos and video showing a four-wheel drive vehicle in which three people were shot to death about 100 yards from the suicide bombing. The AP plans to lodge a protest with the American military. When I went near the four-wheel drive, I saw the Americans taking pictures of the same car, so I started taking pictures," Gul said. "Two soldiers with a translator came and said, 'Why are you taking pictures? You don't have permission.'" It wasn't clear why the accredited journalists would need permission to take photos of a civilian car on a public highway. Gul said the U.S. troops took his camera, deleted his photos and returned it to him. The journalists came across another American, showed their identification cards, and he agreed that they could take pictures. A Western military official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to release the information said the troops were Marine Special Operations Forces, the Marine Corps component created in February 2006 of the U.S. Special Operations Command. "The same soldier who took my camera came again and deleted my photos," Gul said. "The soldier was very angry ... I told him, 'They gave us permission,' but he didn't listen." Gul's new photos were also deleted, and the American, speaking through a translator, warned him that he did not want to see any AP photos published anywhere. The American also raised his fist in anger as if he were going to hit him, but he did not strike, Gul said. Lt. Col. David Accetta, a U.S. military spokesman, said he did not have any confirmed reports that coalition forces "have been involved in confiscating cameras or deleting images." Khanwali Kamran, a reporter for the Afghan channel Ariana Television, was in a small group of journalists working alongside Gul. Kamran said the American soldiers also deleted his footage. "They warned me that if it is aired ... then, 'You will face problems,'" Kamran said. Taqiullah Taqi, a reporter for Afghanistan's largest television station, Tolo TV, said Americans were using abusive language. "According to the translator, they said, 'Delete them, or we will delete you,'" Taqi said. A freelance cameraman for AP Television News said that about 100 yards from the bomb site, a U.S. officer told him that he could not go any closer to the scene but that he could shoot footage. The cameraman asked not to be named for his own safety. "Then I started filming the suicide attack site, where there was a body and U.S. soldiers, and farther away, there was a four-wheel drive vehicle in which three people were shot to death," he said. As he was filming, he said, a U.S. soldier and translator "ordered us not to move." The cameraman said they were very angry and deleted any footage that included the Americans, as well as part of an interview from a demonstration. Hundreds of Afghans had gathered to protest the violence. Reporters Without Borders condemned the actions of the U.S. forces, saying they dealt with the press poorly. "Why did the soldiers do it if they don't have anything to hide? The situation is very tense in Afghanistan, and the media should be able to report about it freely and safely," said Jean-Francois Julliard, a spokesman for the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders. http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp...003553574&imw=Y |
Re: Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
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| Originally posted by Magnetonium [COLOR=FF7F50] Here's what undermines American and NATO campaign in Afghanistan, and this is not the first nor the second or third time I read something like this: |
Re: Re: Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
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| Originally posted by Subey I have a solution. I've sent the Taliban a memo requesting that they meet NatO in a field outside of town with muskets, and that they fight like it's 1650. And remember to wear british red so the blood doesn't show |
Re: Re: Re: Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
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| Originally posted by MisterOpus1 Trust me, they'll thank us later. |
Re: Re: Re: Re: Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
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| Originally posted by Subey The question of what is a "good" war is a topic of interest. I think that most people would pick up arms to defend their country. Assuming the Taliban are not involved with terrorism, is their treatment of girls/women alone not justification enough for war? It is for me. |
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
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| Originally posted by MisterOpus1 The same could be said for a great many countries. Darfur comes immediately to mind. But there's plenty of other countries and ruthless dictators that deserve closer scrutiny, rather than a mere look-the-other-way attitude that this Administration is creating with a healthy handful of other countries. The bedfellows being created all in the name of War on Terra are quite strange, indeed. By that logic, how many other countries shall we be invading and forcing "democracy" down their throats? Because if humanitarianism and lack of democracy and liberty are your rationales, our military will be quite busy indeed for many decades to come. Is that truly what you are arguing? |
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
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| Originally posted by Subey I think the unwritten rules of conduct that the nation state applies to intervention are antiquated yes. There are of course various situations, and circumstances and whatnot. So in order to avoid discussing the "milder" end of the spectrum, I will limit myself to the "worse" end. In those cases the only reason that I can conceive of for not intervening is because it hurts local history to have external intervention rather than internal. By this I offer the example of Nelson Mandela. To clarify then, my position is that in principle I support intervention on these grounds. And my own death would be as acceptable as if I was storming Juno beach. To not want to help seems alien to me. However this support is not "naive" in that it is contingent on improving the quality of life of those affected, as that would be the whole point. |
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Sixteen dead in U.S.-Afghan militant violence
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| Originally posted by MisterOpus1 Fair enough. Now realistically, is this philosophy that you give achievable, or is it still a bit too idealistic? Furthermore, do you advocate such a philosophy is similar or the same to that which is the neoconservative imperialistic philosophy that's currently running our Administration today? I want to make sure if there's a distinction or not to what you are advocating versus what runs our current Executive branch. |
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