Some 25 Afghan civilians were killed Thursday in a NATO airstrike against Taliban forces, the latest in a string of civilian deaths that is seriously undermining Afghan support for the U.S.-led mission there.
As this commentary notes, such incidents are taking their toll. Since March, more than 135 Afghans have been killed and many others wounded or left homeless by Western combat operations, mainly under U.S. command.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the civilian deaths "difficult for us to accept or understand." Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey has advocated a goal of "zero innocent civilian casualties" in Afghanistan, even if that means letting some Taliban fighters escape when they hide among the civilian population.
At present, we’re handing the Taliban a propaganda and recruiting windfall.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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