"I read the news today, oh boy..."

Discussion in 'Politics' started by saxon, Dec 7, 2003.

  1. saxon

    saxon

    Nine Children Among 10 Dead in U.S. Afghan Raid


    KABUL (Reuters) - Aircraft from the U.S.-led military force killed nine children in an attack in the south of Afghanistan (news - web sites) on a "known terrorist" responsible for the deaths of two road contractors, the military said on Sunday.

    The children were the latest civilians killed accidentally by U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, who are pursuing remnants of the Taliban regime overthrown in late 2001 and allied Islamic militants .

    Colonel Bryan Hilferty said in a statement at the U.S. military's Afghan headquarters the incident happened on Saturday morning south of the town of Ghazni and the intended target was killed in the attack.

    He said the U.S.-led force regretted the loss of innocent life and the incident was under investigation.

    Ground troops of the U.S.-led force found the children's bodies near that of the intended target after the attack by planes with gunfire, he said.

    "Coalition forces are remaining in the area and over the next several days will make every effort to assist the families of these innocent casualties and determine the cause of the civilian deaths," he said in the statement.

    ----------------------------------------

    "DETERMINE THE CAUSE..."???

    If these guys were traders, they would have gone broke long ago. Glad I'm a trader and not a "colon-el". Traders can BS others and themselves; but reality always catches up to them pretty quickly. These military cons "just fade away"...but all too slowly.

    saxon
     
  2. What really amazed me the last few days was the incredible impact media has gained during the last few decades.

    Just imagine: in the battle of Verdun in 1917, 100.000 Soldiers were slaughtered within a few weeks, and no serious resistance developed in the affected societies.

    Well, and a few years ago, a single soldier in Somalia was enogh to start the retreat of the US troops!

    And in Iraq, so far 238 soldiers have died. I don't want to sound cynical (I know what its like to lose loved ones in war), but so far, this is still somehow absolutely awesome in historic terms!

    I was wondering as well what the more important aspect of the terrorist attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan and places to come is from the view of the terrorists: whether its the bomb blasts and their "collateral damage" themselves, or the "sudden" anti-american demonstrations of "bystanders" at the sites getting filmed by international media...

    (BTW, I'm in support of the Iraq-war and fight against the rising terrorist threats, but not on US-terms alone)

    [​IMG]
     
  3. Pabst

    Pabst

    To put thing's in perspective. The number of Chicago murder victim's in 2003 is double U.S. fatalities in Iraq. Given the demographics of our American soldiers, i.e. young, disadvantaged economic status, it's not unreasonable to statistically extrapolate that out of the 150k-200k troop average we've had in Iraq this year, perhaps 50-100 of those soldiers would have been murder victims, (let alone automobile accident victims), had they remained here in the States.
     
  4. oh well since you put it this way ..

    we can kill another couple hundred without further ado starting next year 2004...

    :-/
     
  5. Good point Pabst, very good point: congratulations on your ability to think politically incorrect.

    If we'll also add up to that number the additional children "made" before departure or upon return and the future families to get established, then, from a state's point of view..................
     
  6. saxon

    saxon

    Guess you guys missed the point of my original post. I was not suggesting that war could be without casualties, including civilian casualties. It is the kiss-butt incompetence of the US commanders (as reflected in the colonel's statement) that causes me to think that these guys are bound to do more harm than good.

    They remind me of that pathetic rich kid at camp who has all the latest and most expensive L.L.Bean gear...but couldn't catch a fish if his life depended on it.

    If the US truly has the finest military on Earth (as I'm told by the commander-in-chief) then I have every right to expect them to PERFORM like the finest military on Earth, and not just talk a good game.

    saxon
     
  7. saxon

    saxon

    U.S. Says Six More Children Die in Afghan Attack


    By David Brunnstrom

    KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday six children and two adults were killed in a U.S. attack in southeastern Afghanistan (news - web sites), the second incident in less than a week in which children have died.

    Nine children were killed in a bungled air strike on Saturday that raised fears of a backlash from Afghans.

    The bodies of the six children were found after a U.S. air and ground attack last Friday on a compound used by a "terrorist" commander to store arms near Gardez in Paktia province, U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Bryan Hilferty said.

    "After we went in there, we discovered the next day, when we were trying to clear it, the bodies of two adults and six children under a collapsed wall," he said.

    "We don't know what caused the wall to collapse, because although we fired on the compound, there were secondary and tertiary explosions."

    The news is an embarrassment to the U.S. military, coming days after it said it had killed another nine children in a bungled airstrike in the neighboring province of Ghazni meant to target another militant.

    Hilferty told a news conference Friday's attack was launched by special forces on a compound used by Mullah Jalani to store hundreds of rockets and mines as well as artillery pieces.

    "We were conducting a night assault on the compound," he said. "We observed a heavy machinegun firing from a compound that we had no indication there were non-combatants in. We fired on the compound from the air and the machinegun stopped."
     
  8. Surely their surviving parents sisters and brothers, harbor loving feelings for America.:( You ask why they hate us???:confused: Tomorrow one of them wears plastic and blows up on of our interests there or here. Ofc they will be labeled terrorists. :eek: You ask why they hate us???:confused: jem? anyone?
    sheeeshhh Why not show these atrocities on every news outlet?