Airstrike Based on “Intelligence” from One Informant Costs Civilian Lives in Afghanistan

October 23, 2009 by peacepundit

This story is a month old, but still worth some attention:

NATO troops called in an airstrike on a stalled Taliban convoy of fuel trucks, based on one Afghan person’s claim that there were only Taliban warriors at the site. In fact, many civilians were there because the Taliban had forcibly recruited their help in freeing their trucks from being stuck in mud. So, three 500-pound bombs later, some Taliban troops and an indeterminate number of civilians are dead, and many are wounded. [Read Washington Post Story]

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Posted in Civilian Casualties | Leave a Comment »

Anti-War March in SF, Sat Oct 17

October 16, 2009 by peacepundit

United for Peace and Justice in San Francisco is hosting an anti-war march to protest the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assemble starting at 11 am at UN Plaza (Market St. between 7th & 8th Streets). The march starts at 12 noon, winds around downtown SF, and returns to UN Plaza, where there will be a rally at 1 pm.

For details, go to oct17awc.wordpress.com

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A Documentary Critiquing the Iraq War: “Why We Fight”

September 23, 2009 by peacepundit

I recently was told about a documentary film, released near the end of the Bush administration, that tries to understand the reasons why the US went to war in Iraq. Hint: Oil isn’t the whole story; there is a great deal of historical context.

The film interviews current and former military officers, defense analysts, politicians, and ordinary citizens about why we went to war against Iraq. It also include archival news footage from all around the world.

I can’t decide what is the best part of the film.

  • It might be the historical footage of President Ike Eisenhower warning at the end of his Presidency about the perils of having government be guided by companies who profit from war.
  • Or it might be the ongoing interview with the Vietnam-war vet who lost his son in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and, wanting to “kick the perpetrators’ butts”, strongly supported the Iraq war, but eventually became disillusioned with Bush when he realized that Iraq was not behind 9/11.
  • Or it might be intercutting of interviews with the pilots of Stealth bombers proudly talking about their precision-guided bombs with statistics on how accurate those bombs really were (answer: not) and much “collateral damage” (i.e., civilian casualties) they caused (answer: much).
  • Or it might be the reflections of former Pentagon analyst Karen K about her conversion from military strategist to anti-war activist.
  • Or, finally, it might be the interviews with the neo-cons who believed then and still believe that global domination is and should be the goal.

The video is an hour and a half long, but it’s divided into short episodes so you can watch it as you have time.

Highly recommended:
Watch Film

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Posted in A War Based on Lies, Civilian Casualties, Cost of War, Lessons from History, Mission Accomplished?, Reviews, War on Terrorism | 1 Comment »

New Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, & Yemen

September 19, 2009 by peacepundit

The last week has been terrible for civilians in various conflict zones around the world. Briefly:

  • Afghanistan: Car bomb in Kabul kills 6 NATO troops, 10 civilians
  • Afghanistan: Two Afghan children killed by female suicide bomber
  • Iraq: Car bomb in market kills 7, wounds 21
  • Pakistan: Suicide car bomber attacks hotel, killing 29
  • Somalia: Suicide bombing in Somalia kills 17 African Union peacekeepers & 4 civilians
  • Yemen: 87 civilians killed in Yemen govt airstrike

For more information, see the stories excerpted below.

Car bomb kills 6 NATO troops, 10 civilians

AFP, Sept 19, 2009

Pamela Constable, Washington Post, Friday, September 18, 2009

Kabul – A powerful car bomb killed six NATO troops and at least 10 Afghan civilians in downtown Kabul Thursday, injuring more than 50 people when it exploded just after noon at a busy traffic circle near the international airport.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack, which was aimed at an Italian military convoy and left bodies strewn through nearby market stalls and streets. The six slain troops were reportedly all Italian, …

…

[Read Entire Story]

Two Afghan children killed by suspected woman bomber

AFP, Sept 19, 2009

KABUL — Two children were killed when a suicide attacker believed to have been a woman blew herself up in a crowded area of western Herat city on Saturday, a senior police official said. Another young girl, a woman, and an elderly man were wounded in the attack, according to a local police commander.

He said pieces of blue cloth that looked like they had been part of a burka, the all-covering article of clothing worn by many Afghan women, had been scattered around the site of the blast. “Some pieces of burka were seen at the site, so we are investigating if the attack was committed by a woman,” he said. “In this suicide attack, one boy aged 10 and a girl aged seven were killed and a women, a girl of seven, and an old man were wounded,” he said.

…

[Read Entire Story]

Iraq car bomb kills seven

(AFP) – Sept 18, 2009

BAGHDAD — Seven people were killed and 21 others wounded by a car bomb just outside Baghdad on Friday evening, a security official said.

The bomb exploded in the town of Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, at around 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) in…

…

The number of violent deaths in Iraq hit a 13-month high in August, raising fresh concerns about stability after the government admitted that security is worsening.
Government statistics showed that 456 people — 393 civilians, 48 police and 15 Iraqi soldiers — were killed. That was the highest monthly toll since July 2008, when 465 died.

[Read Entire Story]

Hotel bombing kills 29 in northwest Pakistan

Inamur Rehman, Associated Press, Sept 19, 2009

Kohat, Pakistan — … [A] suicide car bomber destroyed a two-story hotel Friday in northwest Pakistan, killing 29 people and underscoring the relentless security threat to the region.

The blast on the outskirts of Kohat wounded 55 others. It was the second attack in two days in the area, which is close to Pakistan’s rugged border region with Afghanistan …

…

“When the clouds of dust cleared, I saw the dead bodies and the pieces of bodies all around, and everywhere there was blood and wounded people. They were crying,” Wagar Ali, who was wounded in the blast, told AP Television News.

…

[Read Entire Story]

Death toll rises to 21 in Somalia suicide attack

By AHMAD AL-HAJ and DONNA ABU-NASR (AP), Sept 17, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya — A spokesman for the African Union says the death toll from the twin suicide car bombing of its peacekeeping base in Somalia has risen to 21.

Gaffel Nkolokosa said Friday that the dead include 17 African Union peacekeepers and 4 Somali civilians. He is the spokesman for the African Union Mission for Somalia. He says about 40 others were wounded in Thursday’s attack in Mogadishu, …

The suicide bombers arrived at the main African Union peacekeeping base in Somalia in stolen U.N. cars packed with explosives. A Somali insurgent group claimed responsibility.

[Read Entire Story]

87 civilians killed in Yemen strike

By AHMAD AL-HAJ and DONNA ABU-NASR (AP), Sept 17, 2009

SAN’A, Yemen — Nearly 87 civilians were killed in a strike by government warplanes that hit a camp of people fleeing fighting in northern Yemen, a tribal leader said Thursday. …

The Yemeni government has said it is determined to stamp out the nearly 5-year-old rebellion, …

Every day, warplanes screech over the ornate mud-brick skyline of San’a, the capital, to bomb the Shiite rebels in the northern region of Saada, … Some 150,000 Yemenis have fled their homes in the past five years, …

On Wednesday, government jets bombed a makeshift camp packed with displaced people near the front-line town of Horf Sufyan, witnesses said. Sheik Mohammed Hassan, … put the death toll at 87, most of them women and children.

The strikes hit near a school as well as a bridge under which many had taken shelter from the bombardment, crushing them, said Hassan, who is a member of the pro-government Sufyan tribe …

… Yemen’s Supreme Security Committee, which is headed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, ordered an investigation into the reports, the state news agency SABA reported. It cited an unidentified official from the committee saying, rebels “have increasingly prevented civilians from moving to secure areas, using them as human shields”.

…

[Read Entire Story]

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Democratic Support for Afghan War Wanes

September 11, 2009 by peacepundit

Today is the eighth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Congress is also getting back to work after its summer recess. The healthcare issue has taken center stage, but the continuation of the Afghan war is also an issue, and on that issue, President Obama faces growing opposition from his own party. Today the number of U.S. troop casualties in Afghanistan hit 745.

Three articles published today describe the controversy:

Democratic support for Afghan war waning

By Lara Jakes (AP), Sept 11 2009

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders in Congress urged the Obama administration Thursday to quickly produce a plan for winning the war in Afghanistan or risk widespread opposition within the president’s own party to a new troop buildup.

Simmering congressional frustration could lead to tighter scrutiny and more limited resources, even if Capitol Hill ultimately does approve sending more U.S. troops to the war-torn nation, aides said.

“I don’t think there’s a great deal of support for sending more troops to Afghanistan in the country or in the Congress,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking Democrat to signal that a push for more troops will get a skeptical look.
Democratic Rep. John P. Murtha, chair of the powerful House Appropriations panel that oversees military spending, described himself as “very nervous” about sending more troops to Afghanistan and cited limited funds to do so.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid urged Democrats to resist rushing to judgment. But he, too, said he wanted to see President Barack Obama’s plans for the military mission before adding more soldiers, pilots and Marines to the mix.

…

[Read Entire Article]

How Many Troops Should Be in Afghanistan?

By Nancy Cordes (CBS News), Sept 11 2009

Paying tribute to the victims of Sept. 11, President Obama urged Americans not to lose faith in the mission it sparked.

“Let us renew our resolve against those who perpetrated this barbaric act and plot against us still,” Mr. Obama said.

But as Mr. Obama considers sending more troops to Afghanistan, his own party is balking. Friday, the Senate Armed Services Chair Carl Levin implored him not to order more deployments, but to focus instead on training the Afghan army and police, …

“We need a surge of Afghan security forces,” Levin said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a similar message to the president. “I don’t think there is a great deal of support for sending more troops to Afghanistan in the country or in the Congress,” Pelosi said.

The misgivings in the President’s own party reflect a growing national pessimism amid record casualties there.

A recent CBS News poll found approval for the president’s handling of the war has sunk to 48 percent – down 8 points since April.

…

[Read Entire Article]

Lawmakers Brace for Fight Over U.S. Troop Surge for Afghanistan

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan, Bloomberg, Sept 12 2009

Lawmakers are taking sides in a debate unfolding at the White House and on Capitol Hill over the wisdom and cost of deploying thousands more U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan.

Senator Carl Levin, the Armed Services Committee chairman, yesterday joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other prominent Democrats in expressing opposition to sending more combat forces. He urged the Obama administration instead to focus on expanding Afghan security forces and persuading insurgents to abandon anti-government militias, as was done in Iraq.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, meanwhile, lined up with leading Republicans calling for a boost in U.S. forces akin to the 2007 troop surge that has been credited with improving security in Iraq. Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, heads the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

…

[Read Entire Article]

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George Will: Get Out of Afghanistan

September 3, 2009 by peacepundit

The temperature of Hell just dropped below freezing. Watch for pigs flying overhead.

George F. Will, the conservative political columnist for the Washington Post, wrote in his Sept 1 column that there is no further value in continuing the heavy US military ground-troop deployment in Afghanistan, and that the US should withdraw.

He isn’t exactly advocating peace — he suggests continued use of airstrikes and small Special Forces missions — but his position is much closer to that than Obama’s. The Obama administration is following a policy that tries to mix military force, diplomacy, infrastructure development, and nation-building. Obama already faces criticism of this policy from the left.

Will’s column puts him at odds with most of his fellow conservatives (see The Reaction, below).

Some excerpts from Will’s column, followed by links to some of the reaction:

Time to Get Out of Afghanistan

By George F. Will
Tuesday, September 1, 2009

…

U.S. strategy — protecting the population — is increasingly troop-intensive while Americans are increasingly impatient about “deteriorating” … conditions. The war already is nearly 50 percent longer than the combined U.S. involvements in two world wars, and NATO assistance is reluctant …

The U.S. strategy is “clear, hold and build.” Clear? Taliban forces can evaporate and then return, confident that U.S. forces will forever be too few to hold gains. …

Military historian Max Hastings says Kabul controls only about a third of the country — “control” is an elastic concept — and ” ‘our’ Afghans may prove no more viable than were ‘our’ Vietnamese, the Saigon regime.” …

Even though violence exploded across Iraq after, and partly because of, three elections, Afghanistan’s recent elections were called “crucial.” To what? They came, they went, they altered no fundamentals… Creation of an effective central government? Afghanistan has never had one. …

Mullen speaks of combating Afghanistan’s “culture of poverty.” But that took decades in just a few square miles of the South Bronx. …

…

[F]orces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters.

…

[Read Entire Article]

The Reaction

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Greg Mortenson Teaches US Military About Waging Peace

August 15, 2009 by peacepundit

In my recent review of the book Three Cups of Tea (see review), I suggested that the US Military could learn much from the work of Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute about how to wage peace rather than war in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan, allowing them to win over locals and reduce the influence and popularity of the Taliban.

One strong piece of evidence that Mortenson’s approach works is that although the Taliban have since 2007 shut down almost a thousand secular schools — especially schools that educate girls — in the regions where they operate, none of the almost 100 Central Asia Institute schools — all of which educate girls as well as boys — have been shut down (although one was attacked and temporarily occupied by the Taliban until a local warlord whose daughter attended the school had his militia eject the Taliban from the school). Reason: The schools are built with help and consultation with the people who will use them, to meet their needs. This creates a strong sense of ownership by the local community, which helps insulate the schools from harm.

Mortenson made it clear in the book that he felt he had to keep his distance from the US military, because being perceived as helping them (e.g., providing tactical information) would harm the bond of trust that he and his organization have with the people his institute serves, and might even put his life in jeapardy.

Nonetheless, Three Cups of Tea has become required reading for US senior military officers, US Special Forces in Afghanistan, and military personnel from several other countries.

Mortenson has recently decided that, by showing the military how his organization works and what it does, he can educate them to work more his way, rather than the way they have been working over the past eight years. So he is happy to explain to military audiences that the way to win in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan is to “drink more tea” with the local people.

This change of mind and tactic is apparent in Mortenson’s blog, particularly three recent postings, which link to articles recently published elsewhere:

  • New York Times article by Thomas Friedman about the US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony for one a new school built by the Central Asia Institute in a remote Afghan village.
  • Navy Compass article about Mortenson’s talk to a group of sailors at a naval base in San Diego, CA.
  • Times Herald-Record article about Mortenson’s talk to cadets at West Point (the US Army military academy).

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“Innocent Voices”: A Film about Children in El Salvador’s 1980s Civil War

August 9, 2009 by peacepundit

I rented and watched a powerful movie about children growing up during El Salvador’s dirty civil war of the 1980s.

The film is a dramatization, not a documentary, written by Oscar Orlando Torres, a Salvadorean writer who spent his pre-adolescence in that bloody war. It was made in Mexico, with Mexican actors, including Carlos Padilla as Chava (the protagonist) and Leonor Varela as his mother. The Director was Mexican Director Luis Mandaki. After its 2005 release in Mexico, it won several awards at film festivals, including the Berlin Film Festival and the Seattle Film Festival.

The film depicts Chava’s impoverished family living in a cardboard and sheet-metal shack in a slum that unfortunately for them is a battle-ground between the Salvadorean Army and the FMLN rebels. Their attempts to live semi-normal lives are constantly interrupted at unpredictable times by bullets and explosions ripping through their home. Chavas mother is trying to work her way out of poverty, but spends most of her time trying to protect her kids. It is a hellish life. To make matters worse, Chava and several of his friends are approaching 12 years of age, which is when the Army forcibly “recruits” boys to turn them into child soldiers (to prevent them from becoming rebels).

Since the movie mostly shows events from the boy’s point of view, geopolitical aspects of the Salvadorean civil war are mentioned only briefly or not at all. The film briefly slaps the US for sending military advisors “to train our soldiers to kill us”. However, it leaves unmentioned the role of large agricultural corporations (eg., United Fruit) in enlisting the US’s help in keeping El Salvador a feudal society so 14 Salvadorean families can control most everything in the country and we North Americans can enjoy cheap bananas and mangos. That isn’t a failing of the film — it simply leaves all that for another film to tackle.

What the film does well is make viewers see innocent people living a truly hellish life — a totally human-caused one. I hope it makes people angry and motivates them to work against the forces that create such hells on earth.

Highly recommended.

Also recommended is the short “Making of the Film” video that is one of the bonus features on the DVD. It has two benefits: a) it is refreshing after the suspenseful film to be reminded that the film is a dramatization by actors, and b) it gives a glimpse of how child actors (even one only five years old) were able to give such convincing performances.

Links to further information about the film:

Posted in Civilian Casualties, Lessons from History, Reviews | 1 Comment »

Blackwater (Xe) Faces More Accusations of Wrongdoing

August 5, 2009 by peacepundit

The US-based security firm Blackwater Worldwide (now called “Xe”) first gained notoriety in 2005 when its guards were accused of using excessive force in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The company made news again in a series of incidents in Iraq where excessive force by its guards was alleged to have caused unnecessary civilian deaths and injuries. Now the company is suddenly facing more accusations, based on legal testimony by two former Blackwater guards. The allegations include:

  • Erik Prince, the company’s owner, is accused of ordering the killing of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company
  • Blackwater smuggled illegal weapons into Iraq, both for sale and for unauthorized use by its own personnel
  • Blackwater destroyed records documenting its questionable activities
  • Prince considers himself a Christian crusader aiming to eliminate Muslims and Islam
  • Prince sent personnel to serve in Blackwater’s Iraq units who were not properly vetted and cleared by the US State Department (Blackwater’s client) and who failed the required psychological tests, but who shared Prince’s views about Christian supremacy and a disregard for Iraqi lives

Jeremy Scahill’s recent article in The Nation magazine, excerpted below, reports the allegations.

Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder

By Jeremy Scahill, August 4, 2009

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company’s owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe,” and that Prince’s companies “encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life.”

In their testimony, both men [identified in the court documents only as John Doe #1 and #2 for their safety] also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting “illegal” or “unlawful” weapons into the country … They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. …

These allegations, … are contained in sworn affidavits, … filed … on August 3 in the Eastern District of Virginia as part of a seventy-page motion by lawyers for Iraqi civilians suing Blackwater for alleged war crimes and other misconduct. … Blackwater asserts that Prince and the company are innocent of any wrongdoing and that they were professionally performing their duties on behalf of their employer, the US State Department.

…

… States Doe #2: “On more than one occasion, Mr. Prince and his top managers gave orders to destroy emails and other documents. Many incriminating videotapes, documents and emails have been shredded and destroyed.”

…

The two declarations … contain a series of devastating allegations concerning Erik Prince and his network of companies, which now operate under the banner of Xe Services LLC. Among those leveled by Doe #2 is that Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe”.

[The declaration asserts that] Mr. Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. … Mr. Prince’s executives would openly speak about going over to Iraq to “lay Hajiis out on cardboard.” … Mr. Prince’s employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis and other Arabs, such as “ragheads” or “hajiis.”

Among the … allegations made by Doe #1 is that “Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq.” He states that he personally witnessed weapons being “pulled out” from dog food bags. Doe #2 alleges that “Prince and his employees arranged for the weapons to be polywrapped and smuggled into Iraq on Mr. Prince’s private planes, which operated under the name Presidential Airlines,” adding that Prince “generated substantial revenues from participating in the illegal arms trade.”

Doe #2 states: “Using his various companies, [Prince] procured and distributed various weapons, including unlawful weapons such as sawed off semi-automatic machine guns with silencers, through unlawful channels of distribution.” Blackwater “was not abiding by the terms of the contract with the State Department and was deceiving the State Department,” according to Doe #1.

…

Both individuals allege that Prince and Blackwater deployed individuals to Iraq who, in the words of Doe #1, “were not properly vetted and cleared by the State Department.” … Doe #2 … states that some Blackwater officials overseas refused to deploy “unfit men” and sent them back to the US. Among the reasons cited by Doe #2 were “the men making statements about wanting to deploy to Iraq to ‘kill ragheads’ or achieve ‘kills’ or ‘body counts,’” as well as “excessive drinking” and “steroid use.” However, when the men returned to the US, according to Doe #2, “Prince and his executives would send them back to be deployed in Iraq with an express instruction to the concerned employees located overseas that they needed to ’stop costing the company money.’”

Doe #2 also says Prince “repeatedly ignored the assessments done by mental health professionals, and instead terminated those mental health professionals who were not willing to endorse deployments of unfit men.” He says Prince and then-company president Gary Jackson “hid from Department of State the fact that they were deploying men to Iraq over the objections of mental health professionals and security professionals in the field,” saying they “knew the men being deployed were not suitable candidates for carrying lethal weaponry, but did not care because deployments meant more money.”

… Doe #1 states that he “personally observed multiple incidents of Blackwater personnel intentionally using unnecessary, excessive and unjustified deadly force.” He then cites several specific examples of Blackwater personnel firing at civilians, killing or “seriously” wounding them, and then failing to report the incidents to the State Department.

Doe #1 also alleges that “all of these incidents of excessive force were initially videotaped and voice recorded,” but that “Immediately after the day concluded, we would watch the video in a session called a ‘hot wash.’ Immediately after the hotwashing, the video was erased to prevent anyone other than Blackwater personnel seeing what had actually occurred.” …

Doe #2 expands on the issue of unconventional weapons, alleging Prince “made available to his employees in Iraq various weapons not authorized by the United States contracting authorities, such as hand grenades and hand grenade launchers. Mr. Prince’s employees repeatedly used this illegal weaponry in Iraq, unnecessarily killing scores of innocent Iraqis.” …

…

Briefed on the substance of these allegations …, Congressman Dennis Kucinich replied, “If these allegations are true, Blackwater has been a criminal enterprise defrauding taxpayers and murdering innocent civilians.” Kucinich is on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and has been investigating Prince and Blackwater since 2004.

…

A hearing before Judge Ellis in the civil cases against Blackwater is scheduled for August 7….

[Read Entire Article]

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Afghan Civilian Deaths in First Half of 2009 Higher than in 2008

August 1, 2009 by peacepundit

A recent article in the NY Times and the SF Chronicle summarizes a new UN report on Afghan civilian casualties. 2008 was a record-breaking year in that regard, but 2009 is on track to exceed 2008’s totals. Excerpts and links to the full article:

Civilian Deaths Rise in Afghan War, U.N. says

Sharon Otterman, New York Times
Saturday, August 1, 2009

The widening war in Afghanistan … is taking an increasingly heavy toll on civilians, with 1,013 killed in the first six months of 2009, up from 818 during the same period in 2008, according to a United Nations report released Friday.

Explosions and suicide attacks carried out by anti-government forces, including the Taliban, caused a majority of the civilian deaths, killing 595 civilians during the period, the report said. Of the 310 deaths attributed to pro-government forces, approximately two-thirds were caused by American air strikes. …

…

The main rise in civilian deaths came from the increasingly lethal tactics of the antigovernment insurgents, including the use of improvised explosive devices, suicide attacks and assassinations, the report said. Almost a third of the country is now directly affected by insurgent activity, the report said, and that reach is steadily spreading.

The report noted increased efforts by international and U.S. forces in Afghanistan to reduce the number of civilian casualties, such as by creating a special system to track them …

The high number of deaths caused by air strikes, however, as well as reports of excessive force used by joint Afghan and international patrols in search-and-seizure raids, remain sources of concern, the report said.

[Read Full Article]

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