Posted on 09/05/2009 1:09:08 AM PDT by nickcarraway
More than 70 people reportedly died in the strike on hijacked fuel tankers, despite the new U.S. commander's emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties.
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Istanbul, Turkey -- In an incident that could seriously undermine the central U.S. aim in Afghanistan, dozens of civilians were killed or injured early Friday in a NATO airstrike, Afghan authorities said.
The predawn strike on a pair of hijacked fuel tankers in a remote part of northern Kunduz province killed more than 70 people, most of them civilians, according to Afghan police, provincial officials and doctors.
Dozens of villagers suffered serious burns in the massive fireball ignited when the tankers were hit, they said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is investigating the incident, which comes at a time of deepening political turmoil in Afghanistan. Tensions are running high as votes are tallied in the country's disputed presidential election.
Only days earlier, Western military officials touted figures showing a dramatic drop-off in civilian casualties inadvertently caused by Western troops, crediting strict new rules of engagement for the decline during July and August.
Upon assuming command of American and other Western forces in Afghanistan in mid-June, U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal declared the safeguarding of civilian lives his top priority, noting that such casualties, perhaps more than any other single factor, erode Afghan support for the presence of foreign forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Of course the terrorists don’t wear uniforms so are also civilians.
Is war not war?
Civilians have a legitimate use for siphoned jet fuel, and none of them would be used against our military
The curious thing about this....is that I can’t imagine a single guy in the US military or in NATO that would ask for fighter support over two tanker trucks stolen. Then there’s a strong suggestion that the tankers were blown up by a RPG attack. If so...there’s only one group running around Afghanistan with RPGs....and it ain’t NATO or the US.
This is starting to smell like the attacks in El Salvador in the 1980s. A classic attack on local civilians...but it always ended up being the bad guys sitting up a pretender situation.
"...hijacked fuel tankers..."
Some Afghan officials said the Taliban encouraged people to take advantage of the bonanza on their doorstep, alerting villagers in the middle of the night to the stranded trucks' presence.
In other words, they were recruited by the Taliban. They may or may not have been terrorists when they woke up in the morning, but at the moment they were incinerated, they were terrorists.
You know, jihadis do a variety of things with fuel and fuel tankers. Let’s look at just one purported account that allegedly happened in Iraq.
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Quote:
iaisite-eng.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1636&Itemid=1
27-5/ Disabling A fuel tanker supplying the American enemy in Ataiwz area
Thursday, 28 May 2009
In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful
Fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame, help you (to victory) over them, and heal the breasts of the Believers (At-Tawba – 14)
Praise be to Allah, prayers and peace be upon his messenger, his companions and his family.
On Tuesday 12/ 5/ 2009 at 11:00 am, after putting trust in Allah and with his support, the Engineering support for the guerrilla fighting wing in the Islamic Army in Iraq detonated an IED on a fuel tanker belonging to the occupying American enemy, and by Allah’s grace it was disabled injuring the driver, This took place in Ataiwz area North East of Baghdad.
Praise and Glory be to Allah.
The military leadership.
The Islamic Army in Iraq.
Jihad and Reform Front.
Most likely they all in on the stealing of the tankers and whatever the end use was to be.
What do jihadis look like and how do they dress?
Well, there is no uniform appearance. Let’s take a look here.
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www.jihadica.com/how-to-spot-a-jihadi/
“How to Spot a Jihadi”
Scott Sanford
August 31st, 2009 | Hamas, Jihad culture, Jund Ansar Allah, Palestinian Territories
Anyway...this is war and when one hangs around stolen fuel tankers; it may make some of us question how many “Mostly Civilians” actually were killed/injured in this wartime incident.
War is hell.
‘Nuff said.
Ha-rumph, no no, of course not.
This “story” is from The LA Times,,,,,fake but accurate?
Obama is a war criminal.
I demand protests and investigations.
...also a good size 13EEE shoe thrown in his general diretion would be nice...nicer if thrown by Helen Thomas.
Upon assuming command of American and other Western forces in Afghanistan in mid-June, U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal declared the safeguarding of civilian lives his top priority, noting that such casualties, perhaps more than any other single factor, erode Afghan support for the presence of foreign forces.
Don’t those troops know that human shields are now an authorized defensive measure?
I wonder why a civilian killed/wounded by us will “erode Afghan support for the presence of foreign forces” while civilian support for the terrorists isn’t eroded by the indiscriminate use of car and truck bombs that kill them by the hundreds.
The curious thing about this....is that I can’t imagine a single guy in the US military or in NATO that would ask for fighter support over two tanker trucks stolen. Then there’s a strong suggestion that the tankers were blown up by a RPG attack. If so...there’s only one group running around Afghanistan with RPGs....and it ain’t NATO or the US.
That's because they were fueling up another wedding party ...... and someone accidentally lit a cigar.
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