I just read what militants/terrorists are doing in Swat. It is terrible, terrible. Swat has been turned into terroris heaven. I take my words back which were said in anguish. India and Pakistan need to get together and root out terrorists but this religious bigotry has to stop. People are people and there is no religion bigger then humanity. Insaniyat is the biggest religion of all religions. May Paki army and its ISi get some wisdom and find a way to give up the people behind the mumbai terrorists. May everyone live in peace and harmony. War is not the answer for India and Pakistan. They need to cooperate with each other in rooting out the terrorists which are the common enemy of Indian and Pakistani people.
Zardari is correct when he said - "we created a cancer and we recognize that we did, the terrorists are imposing their agneda on us." Let us support peace between 2 countries.
- 1
- 2
The Hornet’s Nest
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
What about civilian casualties? Afghan and United Nations officials say a recent coalition airstrike in Herat province killed up to 90 civilians, while the U.S. says 30 insurgents were killed and only seven civilians died?
I believe that this potentially is a case where there was pure propaganda. The Taliban were the first at getting that message out, so that almost becomes the popular perception, and it's very difficult to roll back in spite of on-the-ground reality and investigation. I started an investigation of it. I expect to have the results soon. The commander of NATO, Gen. David McKiernan, desires to broaden the investigation based on our results to include both the Afghan government, as well as the U.N. That's a good way forward. It will enable us to share the real proof that we believe we have from the incident's location.
But how can you combat the popular perception that 90 or more civilians were killed?
One year ago the Taliban would have tried to relate their propaganda to some fact on the ground. An aircraft has a mechanical failure, goes down, is repaired and flies away. They would have said it was shot down. Now what I see increasingly is that there is no link to reality before they make these wild claims. They will try to continue this line of propaganda about civilian casualties. We are deeply regretful of any civilian casualties during our operation. We work harder than any military I am aware of to prevent civilian casualties. But it's very difficult when the enemy chooses to wear women's clothing and hide behind women and children. Three months ago they threw a child out in front of a convoy to initiate an IED. It stopped the convoy, and then the attacker in a suicide vest hit the convoy. It killed the child. When we believe we have created a civilian casualty, my goal is to be able to acknowledge it as fast as possible, to be able to consult with the provincial and district governors and, whenever appropriate, apologize and repair whatever we can with payments [to the victims and relatives].
President Bush and both U.S. presidential candidates say they want two to three more combat brigades here. Is that enough?
We need more troops here in the east. I think General McKiernan has said the same, speaking more broadly of Afghanistan. I don't want to characterize it as a troop surge. But to clear, hold and build we will need more forces, and that includes more Afghan forces, which are critical. Are two to three more brigades the answer? It depends on our success as we increase the number of troops. And then, what's the impact on the enemy? Some things are not knowable in the coming months. Finally, what will be the impact of the Afghan presidential election next year? It's quite possible that the Taliban or other insurgent groups will throw in the towel and say this is not worth it.
© 2008
- 1
- 2
Discuss