Wednesday - March 19, 2008

small raid in afghanistan yields hundreds of anti-american AP photos

KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. forces searching for bomb makers raided Afghan homes near the border with Pakistan early Wednesday, exchanging gunfire with militants. Six people were killed, including two children and a woman, Afghan officials said. 

The U.S.-led coalition said its forces were searching compounds in Khost province for a militant named Bismullah who organized roadside bomb attacks and smuggled weapons. Militants shot at the troops, who returned fire and killed “several militants,” including Bismullah and Rahim Jan, another man suspected of making bombs, the coalition said.

A woman and two children were among six people killed, said Khibar Pashtun, a spokesman for the Khost governor.

The coalition statement said a woman and a child who were in one of the buildings from which militants were shooting were killed.

So in four paragraphs and a headline, AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer, tells us at least three times that a few civilians got caught in the crossfire.

It is regrettable that militants continue to place innocent lives at risk simply to further their own agendas,” Maj. Chris Belcher, a spokesman for the coalition, said in a statement.

Yes it is regrettable. Moral of the story: don’t let the bombers set up housekeeping in your living room. Heck, kick them out of your village entirely.

The raid began just after midnight and lasted about an hour, said Mirza Gul, a villager from Hom in Khost province. Angry villagers had gathered at daybreak, chanting anti-U.S. slogans, he said.

He said one of the men killed used to work as a border policeman patrolling the region in between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Yep, those angry villagers again. Angry that a few local heroes martyrs insurgents terrorist boyos got their 72 raisins a little early, even though they were bravely hiding behind granny and a couple of toddlers. And, gee, duh, the local copper was playing both sides. I’m just shocked, shocked at that one.

The governor of Khost province, Arsallah Jamal, has previously called on U.S. forces to seek Afghan assistance before launching nighttime raids, saying Afghans would be in a position to ”reduce mistakes.”

Going back as far as 2002, President Hamid Karzai has publicly and repeatedly accused the U.S. of heavy-handedness in its counterterrorism operations. The U.S. has said over the years that it has modified tactics to cut down on civilian deaths.

Yeah right. “Reduce mistakes”. By not taking any action at all. Because they’re all innocent victims you know. Especially the bomb makers.

Gul said villagers were contemplating carrying the bodies of the dead from the village to Khost, the provincial capital, to protest to the governor and U.S. forces stationed there.

For their sake, I hope it’s a 5 day walk to Khost. And that they have nice warm sunny weather the whole trip.

If you follow the link you’ll get the story, along with a link to 365 recent pictures from Afghanistan. At least 5 of them do not mention that 3 civilians were killed in this raid. Many show some local dude showing off “bullet holes” in the front of his mud and thatch hut. The rest show either the casket of a fallen Canadian soldier being loaded on a plane, or tell us how almost all the heroin in the world comes from Afghanistan and that’s what nearly all the farmers grow. Bias? What bias?

Posted by Drew458     on 03/19/2008 at 09:25 AM   
Filed Under: • Terrorists • War-Stories •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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