|
Killing Afghan Children
|
View this Thread in Original format
| anuneventrade |
Sorry guys, Making up for lost time during finals week when I couldn't catch up on world events, so here's another thread ;) This report irritated me
| quote: | US raid kills six Afghan children
Nine children were buried after the Ghazni raid
The US military says its forces in Afghanistan killed six children during a raid on Taleban and al-Qaeda suspects near the eastern city of Gardez.
In another incident reported earlier, nine children died during a US air raid on a remote village in neighbouring Ghazni province.
About 2,000 US troops backed by Afghan forces are engaged in a land and air assault called "Operation Avalanche".
The aim is to root out militants active in the mountainous south-east.
In the Gardez incident, US soldiers found the six bodies on Saturday after an air and ground assault on Friday night on a compound east of the city, in Paktia province, where Taliban militant Mullah Jilani was believed to be hiding.
"After we went there, we discovered the bodies of two adults and six children under a collapsed wall," Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Hilferty told reporters in Kabul.
"We had no indication there were non-combatants" in the compound, he said.
Jilani was not at the site, 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Gardez when the troops arrived, but the US spokesman said nine other people were arrested.
At the weekend, the US military admitted mistakenly killing nine children in an air attack on Saturday against another suspected militant in Ghazni province. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3305837.stm
"We had no indication there were non-combatants" read: "We don't want to admit we weren't careful because then we'd look like the reckless dumbass' that we are." |
|
|
| occrider |
| quote: | Originally posted by anuneventrade
"We had no indication there were non-combatants" read: "We don't want to admit we weren't careful because then we'd look like the reckless dumbass' that we are." |
That's not a very fair assessement |
|
|
| anuneventrade |
| quote: | Originally posted by occrider
That's not a very fair assessement |
Meh, I know. It was late, I was bitter and tired. My statement was worded incorrectly. I just don't like the way they tried to shift the blame off of the fact that the children were killed by US soilders by claiming they didn't know if they were non-combatants.
I am still angry at the fact that children are still being "mistakenly killed". But that's war. |
|
|
| MrSquirrel |
| quote: | Originally posted by anuneventrade
Meh, I know. It was late, I was bitter and tired. My statement was worded incorrectly. I just don't like the way they tried to shift the blame off of the fact that the children were killed by US soilders by claiming they didn't know if they were non-combatants.
I am still angry at the fact that children are still being "mistakenly killed". But that's war. |
What happened from the pilot's point of view (as stated by investigators who saw the A-10 gun camera footage) is that the first A-10 made a run and his rounds kicked up a cloud of dust which the kids must have run through while the second A-10 was making his run because there were no children in either set of footage but there was a residual dust could from the first one on the second plane's footage.
The issue with the killing of children is a big one but you need to look at it from a broader perspective. Sure it is bad that a US attack killed innocent children (and I thnk using A-10's in this fashion is a bit of overkill myself) but during the 25 years of civil war in Afghanistan I would bet that dozens of innocent children were killed everyday. 6 in the span of 6 months is a much better ratio in my eyes. Yes zero would be better. But sometimes you have to be a realist in the situation.
MrS |
|
|
| Yoepus |
nah we should just get out of Afghanistan and give it back to the Taliban because everything was perfect and tranquel then.... :rolleyes:
war is war, when will some of you begin to grasp that concept? |
|
|
| anuneventrade |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yoepus
nah we should just get out of Afghanistan and give it back to the Taliban because everything was perfect and tranquel then.... :rolleyes:
war is war, when will some of you begin to grasp that concept? |
Since that is directed towards me, I will take offense. Yes I can grasp that concept since I said "Well, that's war". The only thing I was really complaining about is how the US was shifting the attention by saying they didn't know if they were non-combatants.
I know that it's a war. I know that many innocent people will die. I'm not a moron. I just didn't favor the way they worded the report. |
|
|
| Yoepus |
Yea I see your point, but you also have to remember as a combatent over there, you really want to disassociated horrible events like this with the course of your work.
Meaning, the statement might sound cold and without emotional compassion, but this is necessary - it creates a bar between actions and their worst results. This allows soldiers to keep doing their jobs without trama and emotional distraction. I mean if I was a soldier I would be much happier if I killed "some non-combatants that I didn't know where there" to some "6 afghani children that I didn't know where there", so I don't blame the US army for their cold response to such reports, its necessary for moral.
and btw it wasn't directed at you (soley anyways)... lately I've been getting really pissed at people complaining about how bad this is, and how horrible that is, when what they are complaining about are all events which will sooner or later and the longer it goes, happen in war. |
|
|
| anuneventrade |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yoepus
Yea I see your point, but you also have to remember as a combatent over there, you really want to disassociated horrible events like this with the course of your work. |
I realize that, but it won't stop me from being irritated, heh ;)
| quote: | | Meaning, the statement might sound cold and without emotional compassion, but this is necessary - it creates a bar between actions and their worst results. This allows soldiers to keep doing their jobs without trama and emotional distraction. I mean if I was a soldier I would be much happier if I killed "some non-combatants that I didn't know where there" to some "6 afghani children that I didn't know where there", so I don't blame the US army for their cold response to such reports, its necessary for moral. |
*sigh* I see your point, especially since a good friend of mine is in the army. I think that may be a large factor in my bitterness.
| quote: | | and btw it wasn't directed at you (soley anyways)... lately I've been getting really pissed at people complaining about how bad this is, and how horrible that is, when what they are complaining about are all events which will sooner or later and the longer it goes, happen in war. |
Yes, a lot of people have been doing that lately (unfortunately including myself at time, but I think that is simply exam stress related :haha: ), I have realized it myself. However, that will always happen when it comes to war. (as you say ;)) |
|
|
| PHALPAX |
| quote: | | Originally posted by Yoepus Meaning, the statement might sound cold and without emotional compassion, but this is necessary - it creates a bar between actions and their worst results. This allows soldiers to keep doing their jobs without trama and emotional distraction. |
Well said... |
|
|
| Yoepus |
| quote: | Originally posted by anuneventrade
I realize that, but it won't stop me from being
Yes, a lot of people have been doing that lately (unfortunately including myself at time, but I think that is simply exam stress related :haha: ), I have realized it myself. However, that will always happen when it comes to war. (as you say ;)) |
ugh finals... tell me about it :nervous:
why do you think I'm hear spaming the boards? I'm trying to get them off my mind.
Its one my pet peeves when someone complains about something that simply can't be changed.. then it is just a complaint, with no real value of critisim at all (which most complaints do have)
Sort of like saying I hate finals, sure I hate finals, everyone surely doesn't enjoy them, but will this ever change the fact that there will always be finals?
Just like I hate it when people die, typcially everyone does unless they're a certain person they really, really don't like... say perhaps one of those jackass professors that flunks a class on purpose for the hell of it with an umber-hard final (:eek: ).
So in war, kids will die. Do I like it when kids die in war? No, but neither do I believe kids will stop dying in war because they die in wars |
|
|
| ProDiGaL |
| i wonder if you could be so objective if it was your child.... |
|
|
| Yoepus |
| quote: | Originally posted by ProDiGaL
i wonder if you could be so objective if it was your child.... |
well it be easier for me to be objective if it was just a "non-combatent relative" that was killed :D
Obviously there would be lots of anger, saddness, and fustration, but I doubt't if there would be hate. It is just as if my child died in an airplane crash, I would definetly be mad and bitter and disappointed, but unless there was great negligence and recklessness on the part of the airline or manufactorer, I couldn't really blame anyone for this, accidents happen. A freak unpredictable act of nature - turbulance with hurricane gust winds - caused the plane to go down.
Do I now hate nature?! |
|
|
|
|
