enhanced_deficit
03-23-2019, 03:23 PM
After Deadly Insider Attack, U.S. Airstrikes Kill 14 Civilians, Afghans Say
Men standing over the bodies of people they said were killed during a military operation on Saturday in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan.CreditBashir Khan Safi/Associated Press
https://static01.********/images/2019/03/23/world/23afghanistan/merlin_152500086_a89c1780-bf2a-465f-a561-fab0ae12beb1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Men standing over the bodies of people they said were killed during a military operation on Saturday in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan.CreditCreditBashir Khan Safi/Associated Press
By Najim Rahim, Rod Nordland and Fahim Abed
March 23, 2019
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — After the second firefight in the past 10 days between American soldiers and their Afghan allies, at least 14 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed in an airstrike on Saturday in northern Kunduz province, according to Afghan officials. At least four Afghan soldiers were also killed.
A spokeswoman for the American military confirmed the attack, but blamed the outcome on the Taliban.
“We are fighting in a complex environment and this firefight is a prime example of the challenges Afghan and coalition forces face every day,” said Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson. “The Taliban were hiding in civilian homes and maneuvered in and out of compounds without any concern for the families living inside.”
The episode on Saturday came a day after (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/world/asia/americans-killed-afghanistan.html?smid=tw-nytimesatwar&smtyp=cur&module=inline) two members of an American Special Forces unit and four Afghan Special Forces soldiers were killed during a joint operation in Gul Tepa District, on the outskirts of Kunduz city, and involved some of the same forces, according to Afghan official accounts. The insurgents were reportedly massing on the outskirts of the city, which they have twice overrun, in 2015 (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/world/asia/taliban-fighters-enter-city-of-kunduz-in-northern-afghanistan.html?module=inline) and in 2016 (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/world/asia/afghanistan-kunduz-taliban.html?module=inline).
The latest episode began around 3 a.m. Saturday, after a convoy of American and Afghan Special Forces left the area of the previous day’s combat and an armored vehicle used by the Americans broke down as they were heading to a security checkpoint. When the soldiers got out to fix the vehicle, an Afghan soldier nearby opened fire on them; Afghan officials described him as a Taliban insider who deliberately provoked the attack.
The Americans fired back at the attacker, and Afghan soldiers stationed in a nearby outpost returned fire at them, not realizing what had happened, according to Mohammed Ibrahim, the commander of Afghan Local Police in Kunduz Province, who described it as an accident set off by the insider who first opened fire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/23/world/asia/afghanistan-insider-airstrike-civilians.html
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This Wed was 16th anniversary of biggest blunder in US history (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?532737-This-Wed-was-16th-anniversary-of-biggest-blunder-in-US-history&)
Vets Groups Want Congress To End The 'Forever Wars'
James Clark March 18, 2019Two political veterans groups, one conservative, the other liberal, have spent millions fighting each other on various fronts, from Department of Veterans Affairs reform — what one group calls "choice" and the other calls "privatization" — to getting their pick of candidates into office.
But they've found common ground on at least one issue: It's time for Congress to have an open debate about ending the Forever Wars.
Men standing over the bodies of people they said were killed during a military operation on Saturday in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan.CreditBashir Khan Safi/Associated Press
https://static01.********/images/2019/03/23/world/23afghanistan/merlin_152500086_a89c1780-bf2a-465f-a561-fab0ae12beb1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Men standing over the bodies of people they said were killed during a military operation on Saturday in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan.CreditCreditBashir Khan Safi/Associated Press
By Najim Rahim, Rod Nordland and Fahim Abed
March 23, 2019
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — After the second firefight in the past 10 days between American soldiers and their Afghan allies, at least 14 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed in an airstrike on Saturday in northern Kunduz province, according to Afghan officials. At least four Afghan soldiers were also killed.
A spokeswoman for the American military confirmed the attack, but blamed the outcome on the Taliban.
“We are fighting in a complex environment and this firefight is a prime example of the challenges Afghan and coalition forces face every day,” said Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson. “The Taliban were hiding in civilian homes and maneuvered in and out of compounds without any concern for the families living inside.”
The episode on Saturday came a day after (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/world/asia/americans-killed-afghanistan.html?smid=tw-nytimesatwar&smtyp=cur&module=inline) two members of an American Special Forces unit and four Afghan Special Forces soldiers were killed during a joint operation in Gul Tepa District, on the outskirts of Kunduz city, and involved some of the same forces, according to Afghan official accounts. The insurgents were reportedly massing on the outskirts of the city, which they have twice overrun, in 2015 (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/world/asia/taliban-fighters-enter-city-of-kunduz-in-northern-afghanistan.html?module=inline) and in 2016 (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/world/asia/afghanistan-kunduz-taliban.html?module=inline).
The latest episode began around 3 a.m. Saturday, after a convoy of American and Afghan Special Forces left the area of the previous day’s combat and an armored vehicle used by the Americans broke down as they were heading to a security checkpoint. When the soldiers got out to fix the vehicle, an Afghan soldier nearby opened fire on them; Afghan officials described him as a Taliban insider who deliberately provoked the attack.
The Americans fired back at the attacker, and Afghan soldiers stationed in a nearby outpost returned fire at them, not realizing what had happened, according to Mohammed Ibrahim, the commander of Afghan Local Police in Kunduz Province, who described it as an accident set off by the insider who first opened fire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/23/world/asia/afghanistan-insider-airstrike-civilians.html
Related
This Wed was 16th anniversary of biggest blunder in US history (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?532737-This-Wed-was-16th-anniversary-of-biggest-blunder-in-US-history&)
Vets Groups Want Congress To End The 'Forever Wars'
James Clark March 18, 2019Two political veterans groups, one conservative, the other liberal, have spent millions fighting each other on various fronts, from Department of Veterans Affairs reform — what one group calls "choice" and the other calls "privatization" — to getting their pick of candidates into office.
But they've found common ground on at least one issue: It's time for Congress to have an open debate about ending the Forever Wars.