Afghan Confusion
According to Le Monde, the ten French troops killed recently in Afghanistan may not have been killed by insurgents during a recent ambush near Kabul but by NATO air strikes called in to aid them - which reportedly took four hours to arrive. French troops that survived the incident have claimed they were hit by friendly fire. NATO is currently claiming that it has no “sustentative information” confirming or denying the claims of the French soldiers. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan’s Laghman province, local authorities are claiming that 20 civilians were killed yesterday by a US air strike targeting insurgents. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, three Polish soldiers were killed today by a roadside bomb.
The United States is preparing to send a further 12,000 troops to Afghanistan to combat the rising level of violence in the country.
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August 21st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
That is so sad and tragic:(
I understand communications can get crossed, and errors are almost unavoidable BUT-> to have such a massive mis-execution of an exercise of this importance is gross, and even negligent.
I always wonder, “How can mistakes like this happen, when everyone is suppose to been in the loop of such sensitive operations going on?”… Civilians being killed, and friendly forces dying by way of missing the intenent target –> insurgents…I know things of this caliber are extremely sensitive operations as far as coordination and execution, but WTF??
August 21st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
***intended…
August 21st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
All this useless death is so discouraging.
I can’t stand to see another Canadian soldier die, and at the same time the thought of another country being abandoned to the rule of the most powerful is just as sickening.
Makes one wish foreign countries had just stayed the fuck out of Afghanistan in the first place, and by that I mean right back to the game the Soviets and the Americans played there in the 80’s. Maybe today it would at least be have some of the stability its neighbours in the region have.
So what does a guy do? Do I write to my MP Jay Hill, one of the most conservative MP’s in the country, and tell him I don’t want Canadians to be sent to Aghanistan as cannon fodder anymore just to help Bush’s cronies continue their Project for a New American Century?
It’s so hard not to feel isolated and disheartened in times like these.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Fracticide. They don’t call it friendly fire anymore, because no fire is friendly. They call it fracticide now.
If I had it my way I’d call it: “Holy shit get down!!”
August 21st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
10 brave men lost because of a clusterfuck. We’re killing more friends than enemies is Afghanistan. Time for some responsible heads to roll
August 21st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
[quote comment="62597"]Fracticide. They don’t call it friendly fire anymore, because no fire is friendly. They call it fracticide now.
If I had it my way I’d call it: “Holy shit get down!!”[/quote]
How about calling them “Bush bullets?”
Has a nice ring to it….. kinda like “friendly fire” did don’t you think?
August 21st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I find it hard to believe that anyone who signs up for the job of a soldier does not have some idea that they could potentially lose their lives or be seriously injured on the job. Each one of them would have to come to the decision that fighting for their freedom/country/betterment of mankind is worth the sacrifice. Unfortunately, you work where your job sends you regardless if you agree with the reasons for being there. A war employs dangerous weapons as well. Despite the fact that accidents involving dangerous weapons can be devastating, people are flawed and make mistakes. Accidents happen. I will not debate if these types of accidents are acceptable or not - just pointing out that they are inevitable.
BUT
I don’t think we consider the civilian deaths enough through all of this. Yes it is horrible to lose a loved one who is a soldier in the war, but think of the people who live where the war is raging. They did not choose to make the fighting and death a part of their lives. I read on the BBC site that there have been more than 3700 Afghan civilian deaths in the war so far. These are people who did not sign up to fight. There are to date (if the data is current) 942 coalition military fatalities. That being soldiers who signed up for the job knowing death could be a part of it.
These are not just numbers. Each one is a person with a life and life is the most valuable thing we have.
War = Death. If a country is not willing to lose some of its soldiers in war then DO NOT HAVE WAR. I’m sure the civilians would be grateful for the consideration.