"How USraelis love Investigations", Fisk

Robert Fisk, Independent.co.uk, 07.05.09

Of course there will be an inquiry. And in the meantime, we shall be told that all the dead Afghan civilians were being used as "human shields" by the Taliban and we shall say that we "deeply regret" innocent lives that were lost. But we shall say that it's all the fault of the terrorists, not our heroic pilots and the US Marine special-forces who were target spotting around Bala Baluk and Ganjabad.
When the Americans destroy Iraqi homes, there is an inquiry. And oh how the Israelis love inquiries (though they rarely reveal anything). It's the history of the modern Middle East. We are always right and when we are not, we (sometimes) apologise and then we blame it all on the "terrorists". Yes, we know the throat-cutters and beheaders and suicide bombers are quite prepared to slaughter the innocent.
But it was a sign of just how terrible the Afghan slaughter was that the powerless President Hamid Karzai sounded like a beacon of goodness yesterday appealing for "a higher platform of morality" in waging war, that we should conduct war as "better human beings".
And of course, the reason is quite simple. We live, they die. We don't risk our brave lads on the ground – not for civilians. Not for anything. Fire phosphorus shells into Fallujah. Fire tank shells into Najaf. We know we kill the innocent. Israel does exactly the same. It said the same after its allies massacred 1,700 at the refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila in 1982 and in the deaths of more than a thousand civilians in Lebanon in 2006 and after the death of more than a thousand Palestinians in Gaza this year.
And if we kill some gunmen at the same time – "terrorists", of course – then it is the same old "human shield" tactic and ultimately the "terrorists" are to blame. Our military tactics are now fully aligned with Israel.
The reality is that international law forbids armies from shooting wildly in crowded tenements and bombing wildly into villages – even when enemy forces are present – but that went by the board in our 1991 bombing of Iraq and in Bosnia and in Nato's Serbia war and in our 2001 Afghan adventure and in 2003 in Iraq. Let's have that inquiry. And "human shields". And terror, terror, terror. Something else I notice. Innocent or "terrorists", civilians or Taliban, always it is the Muslims who are to blame.

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One musn't forget that the Iraqis have taught the Americans with blood their geography. In almost every town and every city in Iraq an American military, an American Mercenary or an American intelligence agent had died. The war did bankrupt America. The fearless and inventive Iraqis made the Pentagon re-consider the types of weapon systems needed in future wars. I personally witnessed the turret of one American tank sitting on top of a building near Baghdad surrounded by US soldiers body parts. Have you ever heard of an IED before the invasion of Iraq? The Iraqis are exporting their anti-American expertise to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times

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U.S. says civilians killed in west Afghan strikes
Reuters

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Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai speaks during a news conference in Kabul Reuters – Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai speaks during a news conference in Kabul April 27, 2009. REUTERS/Ahmad …

* 'A number of civilians' killed in Afghan fighting: investigation Play Video Afghanistan Video:'A number of civilians' killed in Afghan fighting: investigation AFP
* Healing Hands Play Video Afghanistan Video:Healing Hands FOX News
* Lessons from Pakistan Play Video Afghanistan Video:Lessons from Pakistan Reuters

By Emma Graham-Harrison Emma Graham-harrison – 1 hr 45 mins ago

KABUL (Reuters) – The U.S. military acknowledged on Saturday that air strikes in western Afghanistan this week had killed civilians and Afghan President Hamid Karzai put the death toll at up to 130.

In a joint statement with the Afghan government, U.S. forces said non-combatants were among the dead but it was not possible to determine how many because the bodies had been buried.

Karzai said he had received an official update putting the number of innocent casualties from the strikes, which hit crowded homes in two villages in Farah province, as high as 130.

If that toll was confirmed it would be the deadliest single incident affecting Afghan civilians since U.S.-led forces started battling the Taliban in 2001.

The deaths in Farah have inflamed Afghan anger about the impact of air strikes, an issue which is already poisoning ties between Kabul and Washington. It overshadowed a meeting between Karzai and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington this week.

The Afghan leader went on U.S. television Friday to call for an end to the bombardments within his borders.

"The air strikes are not acceptable," Karzai told CNN. "Terrorism is not in Afghan villages, not in Afghan homes. And you cannot defeat terrorists by air strikes."

Obama had expressed "sorrows and apologies" over the deaths in their White House summit, he said.

HUMAN SHIELDS?

The joint U.S.-Afghan statement suggested Taliban fighters may have worsened the toll by using civilians as human shields.

"Reports also indicate that Taliban fighters deliberately forced villagers into houses from which they then attacked Afghan national security forces and coalition forces," it said.

U.S. military officials have said they think the toll might be lower than Karzai's estimate or a figure of 147 victims provided by villagers, without giving further details.

The delay in calculating the toll may fuel anger among Afghans who have long resented Western forces' handling of reported civilian deaths.

U.S. and NATO commanders have put new drills in place in recent months, responding more quickly, coordinating their investigations with Afghan authorities, apologizing publicly and offering compensation.

The Farah incident shows further changes are needed, critics said.

"The procedures for protecting civilians and verifying intelligence before launching attacks are clearly not working and must be thoroughly reviewed again," said Rachel Reid, Afghanistan researcher for Human Rights Watch.