Nine Afghan Boys Collecting Firewood Killed by NATO Helicopters

[tekisui]

Source: New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — Nine boys collecting firewood to heat their homes in the eastern Afghanistan mountains were killed by NATO helicopter gunners who mistook them for insurgents, according to a statement on Wednesday by NATO, which apologized for the mistake.

The boys, who were 9 to 15 years old, were attacked on Tuesday in what amounted to one of the war’s worst cases of mistaken killings by foreign-led forces. The victims included two sets of brothers. A 10th boy survived.

The NATO statement, which included an unusual personal apology by the commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus, said the boys had been misidentified as the attackers of a NATO base earlier in the day. News of the attack enraged Afghans and led to an anti-American demonstration on Wednesday in the village of Nanglam, where the boys were from. The only survivor, Hemad, 11, said his mother had told him to go out with other boys to collect firewood because “the weather is very cold now.”

“We were almost done collecting the wood when suddenly we saw the helicopters come,” said Hemad, who, like many Afghans, has only one name. “There were two of them. The helicopters hovered over us, scanned us and we saw a green flash from the helicopters. Then they flew back high up, and in a second round they hovered over us and started shooting. They fired a rocket which landed on a tree. The tree branches fell over me and shrapnel hit my right hand and my side.”

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/world/asia/03afghan.html?src=me

[lonestarnot]

1. OMG

[Ghost in the Machine]

2. USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!

:puke:

End the wars and bring the troops home NOW!

[leftstreet]

3. K&R

:cry:

[Bonobo]

4. An understandable mistake.

One we explain to them the source of the confusion, I'm sure they'll forgive us.

After all, if we were invaded by China, for example, and a similar thing happened -say the accidental death of 9 children buying Xmas ornaments at the mall - I am sure we would forgive them, wouldn't we? I mean, once they explained the source of the mistake, that is.

Right?

[readmoreoften]

6. No biggie. Accidents happen.

All forgiven.

[tekisui]

7. Of course. It would be harder to accept if this were an isolated incident,

but to the people of Afghanistan, these types of mistakes are routine and to be expected.

I am sure they will understand, as long as we give the families free fire wood for the winter.

[Nevernose]

11. The going rate is actually $1500 to $2000

And we (or rather the warmongers amongst us) justify it by saying that their culture has in place procedures for paying family members for "accidental" murders (from my understanding, it's a lot like Anglo-Saxon wergild). But it's simply a pathetic excuse for nearly a decade of a poorly justified war against barely-organized peasants...and their families.

You'd think that we Americans would eventually realize that superior firepower is the source of all our problems in the world and not than the solution.

[GeorgeGist]

23. We still haven't forgiven ...

the Afghans for 9/11. Eight children were killed.

[Desertrose]

5. ...and we are there again because..............?

We have a lot to be ashamed about as a country.

JMHO

[readmoreoften]

8. Because a Saudi Arabian guy was hanging out there doing bad shit.

[stevedeshazer]

9. Because we are Amerika!

THAT'S why. We rool th' wurld

Silly.

:)

[Alamuti Lotus]

10. No-fly zone over Afghanistan NOW

Shoot these fuckers out of the sky the next time they try to butcher some kids.

[ladjf]

12. It would seem that the helicopter could have gotten close enough

to put the binoculars on the boys without risking being shot themselves. Maybe they were afraid of shoulder missiles or grenade launchers, but, I doubt that.

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. It was more than one copter and they shot them one at a time

One survivor of the attack, an 11-year-old boy, is reported as saying the helicopters hovered over the boys, rose up, fired rockets and then shot the boys one after the other using their canons.




http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/04/3154763.htm

[ladjf]

16. Oh God! I don't even want to put in print what I think might have

been going on.

[gratuitous]

19. Oh, who are you going to believe?

The traumatized survivor of a coordinated lethal attack, probably one o' them Mooslim terraist types, or our star-spangled, freckle-faced faultless troops? America, fuck yeah!

And, naturally, there should be no repercussions or consequences to this for us, because we're so exceptional.

[Robb]

14. More likely they really thought they had militants. Young ones.

Taliban fighters are generally getting younger, not older, as the war continues. Offered by way of explanation, not excuse, FWIW. Utterly inexcusable.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Those ungrateful Afghans don't understand we're killing their kids for their own good.

America is the beacon of Hope and Change...delivered by helicopter gunships.

[ladjf]

17. We have got to get our asses out of Afghanistan. There is every

reason to do so and no reason to stay. None what-so-ever.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. But..but..it would be soo embarrassing to admit we lost (another) war.

What would Rush and Sarah say?????

[Ignis]

24. They hate us for our freedoms, doncha know?

:patriot:

[malaise]

18. War fucking crimes

Go NATO! Go USA!!! You're sure winning hearts and minds.

Obama stay out of Libya!

[sad sally]

21. Some military members following orders to shoot and kill innocent civilians,

including children and babies, will be haunted by these memories for the rest of their lives. Ask any surviving veteran of WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, or the forever ones in Iraq (yes, we're still engaged in a war there) and Afghanistan. So, besides the loss, pain and suffering of parents, families and friends in war countries, American soldiers suffer from these ordered atrocities too.

why is peace in the world so illusive?

[frylock]

22. to be fair, candidate obama clearly stated that kids gathering firewood..

would continue to be senselessly slaughtered in the name of homeland security.

[Better Believe It]

25. They didn't have a firewood permit. And the hunt for terrorists goes on.

[Solly Mack]

26. K&R

[Blue_In_AK]

27. This story really breaks my heart.

All I can think of is how devastated I would be if these were my grandsons.

This war has to end. This is no way to win hearts and minds.

[spooked911]

28. end this pointless, wasteful, evil war now

protest at the White House March 19
http://www.stopthesewars.org/

[Tsiyu]

29. Great Job, BetrayUs

Great job.


We export death so goddamned well. And it's broken our federal budget to murder people.

But we're the Best, oh yeah.

Poor kids, makes me absolutely disgusted with our fucking war mentality. And we just made a lot more enemies just so's we can justify it all....goddamn....