Friday, September 04, 2009
"Protecting" Afghans
70 (or 90, depending on what you read) Afghans are dead as a result of the latest US/NATO bombing. The head of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, says "The Afghan people should know that we are clearly committed to protecting them."
Here's the aspect of the story you have to read carefully to note (and only if you're reading; you won't hear this on CNN etc.): the bombing occurred at 2:30 a.m. That's right, in the middle of the night. And, under those circumstances, the military claims that "no civilians were believed in the area at the time." Really? I know night-vision systems can actually see people in the pitch-black. But are they really able to determine who exactly is "Taliban" and who is a "civilian"? Obviously not. And it didn't take an actual experiment involving 500-pound bombs to figure out the answer, either.
"Protecting" Afghans indeed.
