Who is to blame?
The New York Times runs an article today about how some US soldiers were holding a meeting in a local village when they were suddenly attacked by Taliban fighters – you know, the guys who Joe Bite Me tells us aren’t the enemy. As is almost always the case, children were crowded around the US soldiers, mostly because US soldiers like to have kids around them for a sense of home and humanity. Unfortunately, three of those children were killed. But read how the NYT tells the story;
Many children had gathered around the soldiers when the insurgents attacked, he said. “It is too early to say who is to blame,” Mr. Rasoolyaar said, adding that another shura had been convened to examine what had happened.
WTF was that? “…who is to blame”? The fricken Taliban is to blame, numbskull. Everyone was standing around and talking and the kids were playing and undoubtedly holding the soldiers’ hands when the fricken Taliban busted in and started shooting up the place. Now think about who is to blame.
But a spokesman for the American military, James Graybeal, accused the Taliban of deliberately targeting the children.
“What it sounds like is that during the firefight, the insurgents turned their weapons on the civilians,” he said.
And it’s a good bet, because none of the US soldiers involved were killed and only slightly wounded. I’m no CSI, but it looks like the Taliban’s whole intention to raid the meeting was to kill children.
But, we’re not going to hear Hamid Karzai complain about the Taliban shooting the kids nor will we hear a Taliban official talk about investigations, trials or apologies.
While a growing numbers of civilians have been killed in violence in Afghanistan in recent years, three-fourths of those killed now are the victims of Taliban attacks, according to United Nations data. More than 450 children were killed in 2011.
But let one little mistake from our side happen and the Afghan courts get to plan our night raids for us.
Category: Terror War
I think we should celebrate our fearless journalists by taking them all skydiving.
I volunteer to pack the chutes.
‘chutes? They don’t need no stinking ‘chutes! Let ’em do a literal “free fall”!
I’ve always said the Taliban are the slimiest cowards in the world, hiding behind women and children nd refusing to fight like Men.
@2 Yat,
I will only pack the chutes after 1/2 a bottle of tequilla, blindfolded, wearing mittens.
tangonine:
Only 1/2 bottle of tequila? Go for it, man!
Think the Afghan families will approach the Tallywhackers for “blood money” for the childrens’ death?
Nah, I didn’t think so either.
Taliban regularly target children. But, they don’t pay blood-money either. Americans do, regardless of where the blame lay.
In an incident in Meymaneh (Faryab Province) last month a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his bomb in a park killing three Ohio National Guard soldiers, as well as several Afghan soldiers and civilians including children. After the physical attack the Taliban immediately launched a psyop/misinformation attack by announcing that in retaliation for the bomb US soldiers had hosed down the children, fomenting further hatred of Americans. The physical attack was reported in some European news sources but not in the US MSM. I’ll do the other half of the tequila and please pass the blindfold.