Nine children killed in US attack

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/07/1070732055135.html

Nine children were among 10 people killed in a US air attack on a suspected "terrorist" in south-east Afghanistan, the US military said today.

"Following the attack, coalition ground forces searching the area found the bodies of both the intended target and those of nine children nearby," the US military said in a statement early today from the coalition's Bagram Air Base headquarters north of Kabul.

Coalition aircraft opened fire on the suspect at about 10:30am(1700 AEDT) yesterday south of the town of Ghazni, 130 kilometres south-west of the capital.

The suspect was believed to be responsible for recently killing two contractors working on the Kabul-Kandahar-Herat ring road, the military said.

<snip>

[Melinda]

1. I FUCKING HATE YOU BUSH*!!!!!!!!!!!!

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

[goforit]

14. Men without conscience belongs behind bars!!!!

This is so sad and every damn REPUBLICAN plus wannabe
republican-Democrat(lieberman + miller + gepthart)should be hung!!!

[sistersofmercy]

59. I'll second that!

[Jacobin]

2. My Lai, anyone?

Is the standard "oops" gonna keep working?

Don't think the oops excuse is working in IraqNam...... Nope. I don't

[louis-t]

3. They're REALLY liberated now.....

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

4. Note: As of 5:00 CST, this Australian release is all that's coming across

with this information. There has been some coverage that I've seen (but not by American media) of the shelling, but none that I've seen with this information.

CNN finds it more comfortable to talk about Christmas shopping and people frolicking in the snow.

Today, I'm ashamed to be an American.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Incredible - total blank on American web sites

It's the top story on Australian ABC, and BBC; not even mentioned on CNN, (American) ABC ,CBS, Fox, or MSNBC. It's a US military statement - it's not as if it's an 'unreliable enemy' source.

They all have room for the result of Miss World, of course. Wouldn't want to pollute those news values, would you?

[Journeyman]

37. At 6 pm PST CBS News Radio. . .

carried this article on their national newscast at the top of the hour.

Edited to add I heard it on the Los Angeles affiliate: KNX News Radio.

[Malva Zebrina]

5. --what Mellinda said

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[never cry wolf]

6. Ditto

poor kids must have hated us for our freedoms, huh shrubbie??

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry::cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry::cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[karlschneider]

7. The Bush Doctrine at work. Those children may well have grown up to

be terists.
:grr:

[Judi Lynn]

8. You never expect it to get worse, but it always does

(snip) The suspect was believed to be responsible for recently killing two contractors working on the Kabul-Kandahar-Herat ring road, the military said.

"Coalition forces acted after developing extensive intelligence over an extended period of time that determined the known terrorist was at the isolated rural site," the military said.

The coalition said a commission is being set up to investigate the deaths and said its forces "follow stringent rules of engagement to specifically avoid this type of incident while continuing to target terrorists" in Afghanistan.

"Coalition forces regret the loss of any innocent life," it said. (snip/...)

Oh, O.K.! No prob! After all, they weren't white Anglo-Saxon Protestant Republicans, were they?

The article mentions that after they murdered 11 Afghan citizens in a private residence, when they bombed them in April, Amnesty International admonished them to clean up their act. Thanks, A-I. Your input really helped, didn't it?

(I'd like to point out A-I is currently serving the wealthy coup-plotters in Venezuela in their campaign to keep the public from seeing the evidence of their coup in the documentary, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.")

Just what purpose DOES Amnesty International claim to respect any longer?

[jburton]

9. Ugh.

I'm sure they would be glad to be liberated, if they were still alive.

:eyes:

[JailBush]

10. They're target wasn't even convicted.

He was just a "suspect."

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

11. Those of you with news links and emails, forward this story, pls. n/t

[UpInArms]

19. thanks for reminding me of that power Billy

I was so overwhelmed by the horrendous act of murder that all I was doing was sitting and weeping - shaking and knowing as a mother that there was an evil in my world that was larger than me -

emails are going out as I type - they will be worldwide by the time I hit post

send this to every living thing on the planet

this must stop NOW

:cry: just does not convey my sorrow

[pinto]

20. sent to Amnesty Int'l n/t

[Dead_Parrot]

12. Oh, very fucking democratic.

Go team.

[NNN0LHI]

13. If I was the asshole that ordered this mission I would blow my brains out

I am not kidding. I would.

Don

[Dirk39]

15. Just found on the internet

9/11, 24/7
Demanding a place in my heart
It was an Afghan child with war-wild eyes
Who tore my soul apart.
Little brother -
Has History passed you by? Did History leave you small?
Has History swallowed up my Little Brother, eyes and all?
And another, and another, and so many
Little brothers, little sisters, just like you,
Little seeds where futures grew.
But History betrayed you. History stripped you raw.
History's been hijacked by the marketeers of war.
With their daisy cutting, global strutting, all the world's their stage,
Full of cardboard cut out terrorists denied their right to rage.
Take them out of context; shave them of their roots,
Remain in sweet denial that we bore these bitter fruits.
Blame it on the refugees- all terrorists and spies.
Fact is fiction. Bombs bring peace. All your truths are lies.
Or is it simply my confusion? Do I suffer from delusions?
'Cos everything conflicts in my head.
I hear 'Freedom', 'Democracy', 'War on Terror' -
But all I see are children, dead.
I see missiles marked NYPD
Killing in the name of Liberty
The Home of the Brave & The Land of the Free
Become the Tyrant of the Occupied Territories.
I see stones against tanks
Courage in despair
And children, dead children.
So can you give me a soundbite for that, Blair?
George Bush can you spin me a line
To make me understand why you attack Iraq
Yet you support the rape of Palestine?
I will not carry your shame
This is not in my name.
So I declare myself a terrorist, a rebel of the word
I am landless, I am stateless, I'm Iraqi, I am Kurd
I interrogate your History and find it full of flaws
Just a narrative of neo-facts to justify your wars.
I am the refugee refusenik, I seek asylum from your greed
I'm every victim, every country, every race and every creed
I am the world and I am watching, and I count each precious one
Who is murdered by the dollar, and the sanction, and the bomb.
Every woman here stands as mother to another little brother,
And we say in unity -
You may not murder with impunity.
We will hold them in our arms; we will not tolerate your violence.
And we will never, never, never surrender them in silence.


Morag K Reid, Jan 03

Dirk

[Newsjock]

16. Half a day later, no AP coverage at all

The AP wire is completely silent on this atrocity. Imagine that.

And without any AP coverage, this incident will be absent from most of the nation's Sunday newspapers.

I'm aching to get a story in my Sunday paper about this, and I might end up having to rewrite stuff from the foreign press just to do so. Most other newspapers won't be as industrious, if they even know about it at all.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

17. It's a bitch, ain't it.

Anything we can do here to help get it out?

[Newsjock]

21. Call your local paper?

Politely let them know about the incident. If they don't already know about it, point them to the BBC report or just tell them to search on "Afghanistan children killed" at Google News.

And a note from the inside: There are rarely any big corporate mucky-mucks on board Saturday night. You'll probably reach a frazzled weekend editor who has too many things to do. So be gentle and polite. We thank you.

[pinto]

23. This is a human tragedy, and local papers are a natural...

regardless of poltical stuff.
Religious outlets are a possible voice. also.
Suggest a call and follow up with letter encouraging coverage.

Good luck.

Locally I sent the article to an editor who gives my letters about local shit a good play. Then followed up with a bald faced plea to carry the story.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

24. Sent them an email... I'll follow up with a phone call. Thanks.

[pinto]

27. many papers have email adresses thus: "[e-mail]"

[Newsjock]

29. A friendly warning

Many of these email boxes aren't checked on weekends. The most effective thing to do right now, to get action tonight, is to call the paper and ask to speak to the Page One editor.

Again, be gentle and polite. It's not their fault the AP isn't covering this.

(But please, don't call me. I'm already on top of it.)

[pinto]

30. Thanks. I see it's from Agence France Presse. n/t

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

32. I don't have your number anyway... Why don't you just post it here?

:evilgrin: LOL /sarcasm off

I've been faxing. Less confrontational, IMO.

[parasim]

26. It's on the BBCs site

here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3297575.stm

[Military Brat]

22. Remember the Afghani girl on the cover of National Geographic?

Beautiful, wasn't she? It is one of the top favorites worldwide of NG covers. Now, picture her with her face blown apart. Not exactly what America is willing to see, is it? So they hide this away, hide it away, and that way it isn't really happening.

:cry:

[Cocoa]

25. when is the murder trial going to be?

Have they set a date yet, is it going to be in the new Iraqi courts?

[Just Me]

28. The Neo-Cons Will Burn in,..

,...HELL. I will send this out immediately. I am so sick and so sad to live under the umbrella of an American death squad. I hold Bush and his cronies and circle fully responsible.

[Newsjock]

31. FINALLY -- the AP notices

{BC-Afghan-Attack,0202<
Ripped from the wire

URGENT
Nine children found dead after U.S. attack in southern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Nine children were found dead after an American air raid in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the U.S. military said .

An American A-10 aircraft struck a site south of Ghazni where a ``known terrorist'' was believed to be hiding at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Army Maj. Christopher E. West told The Associated Press.

``Following the attack, ground coalition forces searching the area found the bodies of both the intended target and those of nine children nearby,'' he said.

[Just Me]

36. OOHHH,..."known" now, not "suspected",...

,...go figure,...

,...give me enough money to survive hell,...and I'll give you lots and lots of known terrorists,...right here in the USA!!!

[IndianaGreen]

33. BBC: US bombing kills Afghan children

US bombing kills Afghan children

US forces have admitted mistakenly killing nine children when they bombed a target in southern Afghanistan.

Afghan sources told the BBC that the Americans had intelligence that Taleban fighters were preparing an attack from a house near the city of Ghazni.

A US military spokesman said they had information that a known terrorist was in the area but they were unaware of that children were also there.

Spokesman Major Christopher West said an investigation was under way.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3297575.stm

[Just Me]

40. Children are 2ND to KILLING,...

,...the SUSPECTED "enemy",...everyone knows that, for war-mongering sakes!!! War is about killing,...not saving. War is about controlling,...not helping. War is about death,...not life. Kinda makes "pro-life" advocates for war look just plain stupid,...huh! Make sure we bring 'em into this life so we can either control 'em, persecute 'em or kill 'em.

[otohara]

34. Are We Even Yet?

slowly the US is catching up to the atrocities that we condem others for! This is sickening.

[Dirk39]

35. Slowly ?, didn't you have a foreign minister under Clinton, who didn't

care about killing 500.000-1.000.000 children with the embargo in Iraq. It just had to be done in the fight for:
human rights
freedom
democrazy
free trade
wealth
capitalism
the right to dissent
against terrorism
totalitarism
WTF do I know...
And now you're so embarassed about 9 children in Afghanistan?

Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[qanda]

38. Sadly, you are so right

We should have been ashamed and until we wake up and realize that we only have one party with two different names, we are going to be in a world of trouble.

[Just Me]

41. They have suffered,...

,...by the hands of many participants they never chose,...

TRUE!!!

[otohara]

47. You Mean Sec. of State Madeline Albright

There were a couple of times under Clinton when they did considered lifting sanctions against Iraq. Never ending problems with Saddam, pressure from the Iraqi opposition leaders, paranoia of sending chemicals for farming that could be converted to WMD's, republicans & whimpy democrats who stood by sanctions. Etc,etc.... They fucked up, no doubt about it.

I would hope that by at least by considering lifting the sanctions & making a small, yet ineffective effort to do something, they did care a tiny bit. Was Clinton a cold blooded, heartless asshole? Maybe, but nobody beats out the current assholes in power who DO NOT CARE ABOUT HUMAN LIFE IN THE LEAST BIT, (NO MATTER WHAT AGE, COLOR, OR WHAT COUNTRY ONE COMES FROM), AS LONG AS THEY GET THE OIL.

Did I say I was embarrassed about 9 children in Afghanistan? Although it is quite embarrassing, this is not what I posted.

here's a couple of links on Clinton's pitiful attempt to lift the sanctions. I choose to think that Clinton was a better foreign leader vs the gang of murderers we have now.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is
hoping her consultations with other council members in
New York this week will led to a breakthrough and a
resolution that will get weapons inspectors back on
the job - while keeping sanctions in place until Iraq
is declared free of all weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1999/09/990922-iraq.htm

Clinton rethinks Iraq sanctions

Justin Brown
Staff Writer of The Christian Science Monitor

After punishing Saddam Hussein for nine years, the Clinton administration is coming under increasing pressure to amend its sanctions against Iraq.

Efforts to lift or change the sanctions are gaining momentum both abroad and in the US Congress, where 70 lawmakers recently signed a letter of protest asking President Clinton to allow more nonmilitary goods to enter Iraq.

The lawmakers, mostly Democrats, argue that the measures against Iraq are doing little to erode Saddam Hussein's power, while at the same time they are hurting the country's 22 million citizens.

"Economic sanctions strengthen the Iraqi regime by unjustly targeting the Iraqi people," said Dennis Kucinich (D) of Ohio at a Feb. 16 press conference.
http://csmweb2.emcweb.com/durable/2000/03/01/p2s2.htm

[IndianaGreen]

42. We have exceeded the 2,752 WTC dead several times over

We have avenged each WTC dead 10 times over with an equally innocent victim. We are a Big-Mac eating version of bin Laden!

[Jaybird]

39. i heard about this.....

about an hour ago on WBBM 780 chicago(CBS NEWS)....so i think it's

getting out there, albeit very slowly

[Q]

43. Bush* has killed hundreds/thousands of innocents...

...in attempts to 'get' suspected terrorists. One of the first bombs dropped during the 'shock and awe' show was on a residential in an attempt to blow up Saddam. This was just one of many efforts that failed...but killed many women and children.

- In a just world...Bush* would be tried as a war criminal.

[pinto]

44. MSNBC @ 5:30 PST had "break",

"Nine children killed in Afghanistan bombing...."

I haven't seen any more, cable was down for an hour and a half here (CA).

[Faygo Kid]

45. "Bring 'em on." Yeah, George, especially 8 year olds.

The Freepers will love this; kill them when they're young, so as to liberate the Iraqi people from themselves. Hell, they will ignore it, or blame Clinton. So will the RNC, and their various shills (Hannity, et al). Another great victory for the neo-cons.

[Aidoneus]

46. Kids Dead After U.S. Attack in Afghanistan

Kids Dead After U.S. Attack in Afghanistan
42 minutes ago
By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan - Nine children were found dead Saturday after an American air raid in eastern Afghanistan, and the military was investigating whether U.S. forces were responsible, a spokesman said.

An American A-10 aircraft struck a site south of Ghazni, 100 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul, where a "known terrorist" was believed to be hiding at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Army Maj. Christopher E. West told The Associated Press.

"At the time we initiated the attack, we did not know there were children nearby," he said.

--snip--

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031207/ap_on_re_mi_ea/afghan_attack&cid=540&ncid=716

[Malva Zebrina]

48. the whole report stinks

"suspected militant" bombed--a single person is bombed or open fired upon by aircraft? Do you mean to tell me we do not have the resources to take and capture a "suspected militant" on the ground with ground forces in spite of intensive intelligence over a period of time? Better to have nine children killed (murdered) than risk the death of a soldier or the wounding of a soldier, I guess. How do children get killed or murdered when aircraft "opens fire" on any one person. It sounds to me like it is a case of burning the entire forest down to eliminate one wayward cougar. I wonder seriously, if the soldier who dropped those bombs or whatever he used, had any idea he was killing little children.

They did not know there were children "nearby"? But they had extensive and intensive intelligence for a while? How "nearby were these children? In a "nearby school maybe?

[pinniped]

49. SF Gate/SF Chronicle running the same AP story...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/12/06/international2203EST0645.DTL

..."and the military was investigating whether U.S. forces were responsible"...

"The military was sending a team of investigators to the site to determine if U.S. forces were at fault, West said."

I wonder if they're ever gonna find out who was responsible?

Guess they didn't hear about the A10 that was Warthog-jacked the other day with full armament loaded.:crazy:

[Malva Zebrina]

50. they send the military to investigate itself? Does sound very fair and

unbiased.

[pinto]

51. I know, at least the words "civilian deaths" made nat'l news...n/t

[pinniped]

52. We'll hear the results in about 50 years.

There are so many questionable civilian deaths in AFG/IRQ one needs a spreadsheet to keep track.

LA Times also picked it up:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-120603afghanistan_wr,1,4751146.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[tedzbear]

53. Now the US Military DEFINITELY looks like murderous cowards!

While targeting ONE suspect, the "precision guided" US military uses its full air ordinance to bomb the hell out of anyone unlucky enough to be within a mile of his location.
Why do we attack a suspected "terrorist" with planes and bombs? Because our military commanders are so cowardly they have to hide behind their high tech killing machines instead of fighting with hand to hand combat on the ground. God forbid one of our own gets killed and the civilians back home get nervous. Better to use those fighter jets and helicopters and bomb the heck out of the whole lot of 'em.

Today I am truly ashamed to be an American in the eyes of the world. While the American media is focusing on the wrong done a child by demented pop star Michael Jackson, our air force calmly murders 9 Afghan children.

:puke:

[leftchick]

54. AP now sayong "apparently killed"

and "maybe killed"! How can you be apparently killed?!? Dead is Dead..... :grr:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=716&e=1&u=/ap/20031207/ap_on_re_as/afghan_attack

<snip>KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. air strike apparently killed nine children as well as the suspected militant who was targeted on Saturday in eastern Afghanistan (news - web sites), according to the U.S. military.

An American A-10 aircraft struck a site south of Ghazni, 100 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul, where a "known terrorist" was believed to be hiding at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Army Maj. Christopher E. West told The Associated Press.

"At the time we initiated the attack, we did not know there were children nearby," he said.

Jawaid Khan, the Ghazni governor's secretary, said that eight children and two men were killed but the intended target, whom he identified as a former Taliban commander named Mullah Wazir, was not among them.

"The Americans wanted to bomb Mullah Wazir, but they bombed a different house," Khan told the AP. "The people there are very afraid. They have no idea why the Americans bombed their village."

The target was a man believed responsible for the killing of two foreign contractors who were working on an Afghan road, West said. He did not identify the contractors and had no information about their deaths, but two Indian engineers were reported kidnapped while working on the road Saturday.

West said U.S. troops collected "extensive intelligence over an extended period of time" and located the suspect targeted Saturday at an "isolated, rural site."


.....this sucks! They killed NINE children to avenge the death of two CONTRACTORS?

[dbt]

55. Kick

Back to the top with this BLOODY slice of Amerikan Pie!

:cry:
dbt

[UpInArms]

56. seems that this story has been picked up

by many outlets - here's the "google.news" links

http://news.google.com/news?num=30&hl=en&edition=us&q=cluster:www%2ehipakistan%2ecom%2fen%2fdetail%2ephp%3fnewsId%3den46923%26F%5fcatID%3d%26f%5ftype%3dsource

[whyzayker]

58. NYT has it this a.m.

They're using the original "suspected."


http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/international/asia/07AFGH.html?hp

"Sunday, Dec. 7 — United States warplanes attacking a suspected member of the Taliban killed nine children in the southeastern province of Ghazni on Saturday, Afghan and American military officials confirmed Sunday morning. One man was also killed in the attack, they said."

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

60. It took nearly eight hours for the story to get picked up by

hardly anyone other than the Aussies from the original AFP press.

[0007]

57. All children not left behind should fear our administration

[_NorCal_D_]

61. How very, very tragic....

The fucking Chimp must go in 2004. :(