Someone do the same thing….and they put a label on them….

Have they managed to install human emotion in automated death drones yet I wonder?

when they do, the drones will be able to say sorry and the apology will be even more meaningful!

that was meant to be a comment, not a reply but

Like the killing will stop when the US leaves…..The former Northern Alliance who fought the Taliban during the civil war and helped oust them after 9/11 have already regrouped under the National Front of Afghanistan.

General Abdul Rashid Dostum – “The Taliban have taken control of some places in areas of Samangan, Shadyan Valley, and Ghormach Mountains and they are preparing for a battle after 2014,” he said. “They don’t believe in peace. We will not allow them once again to act brutally against women and burn schools.”

@RDX862

What are you getting at? Trying to provide some justification for the Americans being there? Because it’s not going to work. This is a pointless and vindictive war waged against a peasant people, any reasonable person can see that. It’s just unfortunate that so many Americans are brainwashed by right-wing media and politicians into thinking they’re somehow “fighting to protect democracy”, or rather the American interpretation of “democracy”.

Make no mistake, the Taliban are a dreadful, insidious force, by all accounts. But the Americans are no better, and have far more destructive weaponry. They went into Afghanistan with no regard for the history or complexity of the conflict they were getting themselves into, and at the end of the day it is more often than not Americans from a lower socio-economic background that are used as pawns in these conflicts. They, and the Afghan civilians will have to bare the brunt of this imperialist war. The Americans have no business being there, you can’t free people by indiscriminately bombing them.

Haven’t heard that one before. Like it. Sums it up in one. Amazing how many people are outraged by killings in Syria but nobody really bothered by the mass murdering in Afghanistan and Iraq. Media manipulation is why. Our media is bought and paid for.

yet i have never seen a single criticism on Obama from the irish media.. its like hes untouchable.. ohh hes black its soo cool and progressive

His race has little to do with it. But there is little or no criticism of him in the Irish media. Irish media is about as much use as a glass hammer though. Is Feider Linn

I suppose you would also be giving out if the Taliban kicked them out of the house into the middle of the cross fire. The problem with all conflicts is that inevitably the civilians get the shit end of the stick. If the Taliban aren’t shooting them for getting an education the US are bombing them because they happen to be in the way of a high value target. The problem with drones is that the guy flying it is 6,000 miles away and doesn’t know who is Taliban and who isn’t. Frankly they don’t give a shit so long as a HVT (High Value Target) is eliminated. If 18 civilians get killed then they are collateral damage but hey, it could be worse they could be Americans, or so goes the US rationale.

But that would never happen Brian because they use women and kids as human shields. Same day this happened the Taliban killed 23 civilians in a suicide attack in a market in Kandahar. The Taliban target civilians and nobody cares because they are not the big evil USA.

“An Afghan doctor who examined the bodies said villagers told him that a group of Taliban fighters decided to spend the night in the house because people there were celebrating a marriage and the militants thought the wedding party would provide them cover. When NATO and Afghan troops started advancing on the house in the middle of the night, they called out for any civilians to come out, but the insurgents didn’t allow them to leave, said Dr. Wali Wakil.

“The Taliban stopped them from getting out of the house,” Wakil said.

He said the 18 dead civilians including four women; two older men, including a tribal leader; three teenage boys; and nine young children. Six Taliban fighters were also killed, Wakil said, citing the witnesses. Police had said previously that the district Taliban commander was killed.

Allen said the U.S.-Afghan force called in an airstrike after taking fire, presumably from inside the house, and that the troops did not know civilians were inside.

” A hand grenade was thrown. Three of our people were wounded. We called for the people who were shooting to come out, and then the situation became more grave and innocent people were killed,” he said.

Anti-government forces, including the Taliban and other militants, were responsible for 79 percent of civilian casualties in the first four months of this year, according to the U.N. Afghan and foreign forces were responsible for 9 percent. It was unclear who was to blame for the remaining 12 percent. ”

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/06/08/world/asia/ap-as-afghanistan.html

Look I don’t like the Taliban the same as anyone else but that doesn’t mean that I believe the US either. what the article fails to mention is that Dr Wali Wakil is the head of the US backed Logar provincial council and was recently arrested on embezzlement charges. Not exactly a reliable witness in my view especially when the US are paying his wages. I’d like to see an independent source following up on the story especially when Gen Allen said that the gunfire was “presumably” coming from the building.

Considering the American mantra of shoot/bomb first apologize later I’m not too sure if I was in that building whether I would like to walk out in front of US guns and their hair trigger soldiers.

Corruption is a national pastime in Afghanistan so the only thing any embezzlement charges mean is that he pissed the wrong person off. Not sure how the fact that the US probably funds his council has anything to do with his reliability? Are you trying to say that the US would cut funding if he did not say what they want?