The difficulties faced by our troops in Afghanistan

[NJmaverick]

unfortunately this is the usual nature of dealing with an insurgency in a foreign land:

More civilians die at the hands of insurgents, yet any time innocent victims are killed, the Taliban wastes no time in blaming foreign troops.

"Every time the Taliban kills civilians, nothing happens. There is no protest. There is nothing," said Hroon Mir, an independent political analyst in Kabul. "But whenever there are civilian casualties from NATO or Afghan forces, then there is a reaction."

President Hamid Karzai has not been shy about denouncing the deaths — sometimes even before investigations can conclude whether civilians or militants were killed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100107/ap_on_re_as/as_afghan_civilian_casualties

[anonymous171]

1. The Taliban aren't killing civilians with my tax money. nt

[leftstreet]

2. Wow. We should pull them out n/t

[NJmaverick]

4. The sad fact is that the same people going after the US

would be better off at the hands of the Taliban.

[Fumesucker]

5. I wonder how Christian Americans would feel..

If there were foreign Muslim troops occupying us and killing our people?

[NJmaverick]

6. As I said, this is pretty much the challenge every operation of this nature faces

although the new commander is making every effort to minimize causalties, even at the risk of our own troops.

[Fumesucker]

11. Isn't McChrystal the "new" commander?

I get so angry reading about this stuff I've been deliberately ignoring it for a while now.

[NJmaverick]

16. Yes he is

Last year, U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commanding officer in Afghanistan, issued a new set of orders aimed at minimizing civilian casualties. He said that while it entailed risks to coalition forces, alienating the Afghan population was a far greater risk. Daily operational updates issued by the coalition often conclude with, "No Afghan civilians were harmed in any of these operations."

But the precise death toll often matters less than the Afghan public's perception.

In his final briefing to the U.N. Security Council as head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide said Wednesday that civilian casualties give the Taliban a recruitment tool.

"In the Afghan context, what affects one individual in a village affects all," he said. "I am pleased to see the efforts of Gen. McChrystal to reduce such incidents and demonstrate greater respect for Afghan sensitivities. The military surge will make this challenge even more difficult."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100107/ap_on_re_as/as_afghan_civilian_casualties

[leftstreet]

7. LOL

Message Discipline FAIL

(who writes this stuff?)

[NJmaverick]

10. I know it doesn't fit your agenda so it can't be true

still AP is considered a pretty good news source by most people.

[Flaneur]

3. ...would not exist if our troops weren't there. Get them out now.

[NJmaverick]

8. There was plenty of fightting before the invasion

although the numbers are probably higher as the result of the occupation. Although I would expect Vietnam style massacres of all groups supportive of the US, should we leave right now.

[Fumesucker]

14. Me and my brother against my cousin..

Me and my cousin against the other tribe..

Us and the other tribe against the foreign invader.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. Time to face facts, as embarrassing as they may be. We lost. Get out. Get over it.

[NJmaverick]

12. We surrender and a lot of Afghan people die

the ones that supported us.

[leftstreet]

13. How do 'we' surrender during an Occupation?

:popcorn:

[NJmaverick]

17. We simply follow the idea that so many such as yourself is pushing

rapid retreat followed by what every major expert agrees would be a take over by the Taliban forces

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Is that like the promised "bloodbath" in Vietnam when we left?

You know, the one that didn't happen.

Not to mention the inevitable falling dominoes..that didn't.

[NJmaverick]

19. What are you talking about? 10s of thousands (and that is a low number)

were massacred after we left.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. Really? Funny how that little tidbit of info was never reported.

In fact, you can google and find thousands of hits that refute it.

[NJmaverick]

21. The NY Times reported it

The record of death and dislocation after the American withdrawal from Vietnam ranks high among the tragedies of the last century, with an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians, about one-fifth of the population, dying under the rule of Pol Pot, and an estimated 1.5 million Vietnamese and other Indochinese becoming refugees. Estimates of the number of Vietnamese who were sent to prison camps after the war have ranged widely, from 50,000 to more than 400,000, and some accounts have said that tens of thousands perished,

[Electric Monk]

18. The ones that supported 'us' or the ones that supported Bush?

Karzai, et al