United States Kills 12 woman and children... oops...

[lib2DaBone]

What is the definition of "Terrorism"? If someone kills my family... for no reason.. is that terrorism? Gen. Stanley McChrystal.., " Shit happens....so sorry."

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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c9bed04e-1968-11df-af3e-00144feab49a.html

Nato missiles kill Afghan civilians

Two rockets fired by Nato forces battling Taliban fighters on Sunday strayed and killed 12 civilians, underscoring the risk that an offensive designed to bolster support for Afghanistan’s western-backed government could instead fuel public anger.

The rockets were aimed at insurgents firing on international and Afghan troops taking part in an operation launched on Saturday to secure the town of Marjah and surrounding areas but landed 300m wide of their mark, the Nato-led force in Afghanistan said.


“We deeply regret this tragic loss of life,” he said. “The current operation in central Helmand is aimed at restoring security and stability to this vital area of Afghanistan. It’s regrettable that, in the course of our joint efforts, innocent lives were lost.”

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. Terrible. Congressional hearings would be scheduled...if these were Americans

[jgraz]

16. No they wouldn't. Obama has asserted the right to kill Americans overseas

with nary a peep from Congress.

[bemildred]

2. Yeah heck, the "deep regret" makes it all OK somehow. nt

[hayu_lol]

6. The original article in another thread on this topic...

added a couple of small details that this link failed to include.

One was a sandstorm that was blowing at the time...a strong enough wind to raise sand into the air would have been sufficient force to force the missiles off course. The other mention was that BOTH missiles "veered" off course(not likely that two missiles would have malfunctioned)and hit another target.

Depends on which interpretation one prefers. Certainly a sandstorm wind would have been sufficient to divert both missiles. Anyone who has ever driven 'windy gulch' to Palm Springs would recognize the strength of wind necessary to raise sand into the air. If you accept the initial article, then windshear caused the accident and that the missile shot was not intentional. It was aimed properly.

[bemildred]

7. Yeah, "Gee, who could have predicted this?"

:puke:

[Duckhunter935]

9. they miskeyed a GPS coordinate would be my guess

Himars should not be affected by wind.

[XOKCowboy]

15. I don't think anyone said this was intentional...

I'm sure you realize the point is that by killing civilians we become the "insurgents" and "terrorists".

[asdjrocky]

18. Dead is still dead.

[MissDeeds]

3. Winning the hearts and minds...

one bomb at a time. :puke:

[msongs]

4. let's all go golfing anway :-) nt

[lyonn]

5. Can we leave Afghanistan now?

Guess not - haven't heard news of that sort. Doesn't sound like we are winning their hearts and minds over there tho??

[rug]

8. Oh, give them a break. They said they regretted it. Deeply.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[XOKCowboy]

12. It seems these civilians were 300 yards away from "the despicable people"

Makes a little difference.

[RedCappedBandit]

11. Who gives a shit, they're foreigners.

Hopefully I don't need the sarcasm tag.

[L0oniX]

20. I'm sure they are all seriously demonized by the military ...and that makes it easier to kill them.

Sick f*cks!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. Well, it sure showed the world that Democrats can be as "tough" as Republicans.

It's a war fought for domestic PR. See LBJ and Vietnam for the precedent.

[Mari333]

14. WE ARE THE BAD GUYS

[L0oniX]

17. They call it "bug splat".

[undeterred]

19. What happened to 'surgical' strikes?

[classysassy]

21. I wonder why they hate us?

Bring back the draft and watch the war hawks cringe.

[smalll]

22. Keep blaming America first --

and keep asking, in wounded tones, why way more people self-identify as moderates or as conservatives than as "liberals."

Sorry, there is evil in this world. The Taliban certainly qualifies. They're like Pat Robertson (if he had the courage of his convictions.)

[EFerrari]

23. Keep rationalizing killing. n/t

[dana_b]

26. "there is evil in this world"

yes - and would killing innocents count as "evil"?

[Kyril Enko]

24. I wonder if God will take the time to "sort 'em out."

:grr:

[dysfunctional press]

25. it's okay...they're afghani. and we already said 'sorry'...

geez...what more do you want?

[Foo Fighter]

27. Women and children? Yawn. Let us know when they kill people that count.

Or if they kill a fetus. Yeah, that might register. Were any of the women killed pregnant? If so, that might make a difference.

Uh, MAJOR friggin sarcasm here in case anyone was wondering.

"Regrettable." I'm sure the families of the victims will take great comfort in those words.

The only thing "regrettable" in this whole bogus "war on terror" is that those that started and/or are continuing it haven't been dragged in front of the Hague.

[annm4peace]

28. cable or network news have mention this..

just that they are civlians.