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New Civilian Deaths Roil Afghans #p2 #politics
Afghans turning against American soldiers mostly by being instigated by the Taliban was one of the reasons to disagree with increased involvement in Afghanistan. President Obama better me tough enough to get out expeditiously lest this is his Vietnam.
(AP) KABUL - Thousands of Afghans shouting "Death to America!" protested the killings of children Thursday, the latest in a string of controversial cases in which international forces have been blamed for civilian deaths.
U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal has ordered troops to use airstrikes judiciously and fire cautiously to reduce civilian casualties. Still, each new report of civilians killed unleashes raw emotions that highlight a growing impatience with coalition forces' inability to secure the nation.
There are fears the problem could get worse with 37,000 U.S. and NATO reinforcements already starting to stream into the country as part of a military buildup.
More civilians die at the hands of insurgents, yet any time innocent victims are killed, the Taliban wastes no time in blaming foreign troops.
"Every time the Taliban kills civilians, nothing happens. There is no protest. There is nothing," said Hroon Mir, an independent political analyst in Kabul. "But whenever there are civilian casualties from NATO or Afghan forces, then there is a reaction."
President Hamid Karzai has not been shy about denouncing the deaths -- sometimes even before investigations can conclude whether civilians or militants were killed.
In a meeting this week with political analysts, Karzai said he would speak out boldly on the issue at a conference on Afghanistan Jan. 28 in London.
"If you don't care about civilian casualties, you should not think about victory," Karzai said he would tell the international community, according to Waheed Mozhdah, independent political analyst in Kabul who attended the meeting.
New Civilian Deaths Roil Afghans
They do not protest the Taliban because they are afraid of them, and thus why we are their in the first place, because they do not fight for them-selfs.
They protest NATO & the US because they know we will not strike against civilians. Afghans are distressed, that is understandable.
When their are casualties it is normally accidental, or the people who get in the cross-hair that harbor the Taliban / Terrorist.
Do you know the restraint drilled into our soldiers heads that they are required to use in a situation where their life is at stake? My friend in the US Army is not allowed to aim for the head, and must wait until he has been shot at to react to the situation. They literally have to walk into a trap before they are allowed to do anything.
The Taliban dose not care about human life, they are willing to strap a bomb to them-selfs and take out as many people as possible for 72 virgins that a twisted version of Islam says they will receive for doing it. They take broken people, and warp them into Psychopaths willing to strap high explosives to their crotch and have their privates be the first thing to explode before killing a group of people.
If my country drafted me into this war, I would gladly do my part. Removing a large group of highly motivated thugs bent on nuking my homeland should be a solid reason for anybody, plus saving the lives of Afgan people who would otherwise fall victim to the Taliban directly, and or indirectly.
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