Obama about to become less of a war criminal than some of you think

[Peikko 1,575]

This caught my eye in yesterday's Times and I thought I'd share it with you. The new commander of the war in Afghanistan wants to cut back on air strikes:

In interviews over the past few days, the commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, said the use of airstrikes during firefights would in most cases be allowed only to prevent American and other coalition troops from being overrun.

Even in the cases of active firefights with Taliban forces, he said, airstrikes will be limited if the combat is taking place in populated areas — the very circumstances in which most Afghan civilian deaths have occurred. The restrictions will be especially tight in attacking houses and compounds where insurgents are believed to have taken cover.

"Air power contains the seeds of our own destruction if we do not use it responsibly," General McChrystal told a group of his senior officers during a video conference last week. "We can lose this fight."

"When we shoot into a compound, that should only be for the protection of our forces," he said. "I want everyone to understand that."

I understand that for some of you, "less of a war criminal" is kind of a non sequitir to begin with, but I just thought I'd point it out.

Link

[_Simpson_ 250]

non sequitir in my opinion

Edited June 22, 2009 by looking_up

[alienlovechild 75]

less of a war criminal

Nothing in the article about war crimes. If troops take fire from a building or are the armed enemy holed are up there, it can be bombed.

A United Nations report found that the number of Afghan civilians killed in 2008 was 40 percent higher than in 2007. The Taliban and other insurgents caused the majority of the civilian deaths, primarily through suicide bombers and roadside bombs.

Killing Afghan civilians is ok as long as the Taliban are doing it.

“I think the key for us is, on those rare occasions when we do make a mistake, when there is an error, to apologize quickly, to compensate the victims quickly, and then carry out the investigation,” Mr. Gates said after a meeting with President Hamid Karzai.

Sorry about your family, here's a check. The Taliban pay off in opium if they're feelin' generous.

[Pooky 3,876]

This caught my eye in yesterday's Times and I thought I'd share it with you. The new commander of the war in Afghanistan wants to cut back on air strikes:

In interviews over the past few days, the commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, said the use of airstrikes during firefights would in most cases be allowed only to prevent American and other coalition troops from being overrun.

Even in the cases of active firefights with Taliban forces, he said, airstrikes will be limited if the combat is taking place in populated areas — the very circumstances in which most Afghan civilian deaths have occurred. The restrictions will be especially tight in attacking houses and compounds where insurgents are believed to have taken cover.

"Air power contains the seeds of our own destruction if we do not use it responsibly," General McChrystal told a group of his senior officers during a video conference last week. "We can lose this fight."

"When we shoot into a compound, that should only be for the protection of our forces," he said. "I want everyone to understand that."

I understand that for some of you, "less of a war criminal" is kind of a non sequitir to begin with, but I just thought I'd point it out.

Link

Three words:

Vietnam, Robert MacNamara

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Is there a sliding scale of war crimes?

[Ban Hammer 14,296]

Is there a sliding scale of war crimes?

yeah, we're at one end, the bad guys are at the other. cnn don't cover the bad guys.