Tag Archives: children

The Afghanistan Quagmire Deepens

25 Thursday Feb 2010

Posted by in Afghanistan

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Despite the fact that between 400 and 1,000 insurgents have 15,000 NATO and Afghan troops bogged down in Marjah, an operation in which the overwhelming numbers were supposed to make short work of those insurgents but which the Pentagon now admits is “moving more slowly than expected,” a “similar operation planned in Canadian-led Kandahar province will largely use the same tactic, its commander says.” Kandahar has a population 6 times that of Marjah. The quagmire deepens.

I’m reminded of the old George Carlin line about oxymorons, “jumbo shrimp and military intelligence.”

The Marjah offensive was also to be the first test of “a new NATO strategy focusing on protecting civilians.” How’s that working out so far? Not too good:

“The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said in a statement Wednesday that it had confirmed 28 civilians deaths in the Marjah fighting, based on witness reports. Thirteen children were among the dead.”

A number Canadian Brigadier General Daniel Menard referred to as “not bad.”

I think the parents of those 13 children and the families of the people who Brig. Gen. Menard  called “collateral damage” might have a different perspective.

Twelve Civilians Killed in Rocket Attack

15 Monday Feb 2010

Posted by in Afghanistan, Politics, war on terror

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

President Obama, in the name of the Nobel Peace Prize, put a stop to this, NOW:

“MARJA, Afghanistan — An errant American rocket strike on Sunday hit a compound crowded with Afghan civilians in the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province, killing at least 10 people [the number now stands at 12], including 5 children, military officials said.

…It was unclear whether one or more rockets hit the building. Officers said the barrage had been fired from Camp Bastion, a large British and American base to the northeast, by a weapons system known as HIMARS, an acronym for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. Its munitions are GPS-guided and advertised as being accurate enough to strike within a yard of their intended targets.”

…The strike came after American Marines and Afghan soldiers had been taking intense small-arms fire from a mud-walled compound in the area, American officers said. The answering artillery barrage instead hit a building a few hundred yards way, striking with a roar and sending a huge cloud of dust and smoke into the air. As the wind pushed the plume away, a group of children rushed outside.

“Within a yard.” These rockets missed their intended target by 300 yards.

This is how we intend to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people? And how many recruits will the Taliban gain from this? Only the number of casualties in the days, weeks, months, and years to come will tell us the answer to that question.

Get. Out. Now.