Obama expresses regret for Afghan civilian deaths

Flanked by the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, President Barack Obama expressed deep U.S. regret Wednesday for civilian casualties in a deadly incident this week in western Afghanistan, promising "every effort" to avoid recurrences in the war against a rising Taliban insurgency. Obama had a more upbeat and determined tone as he lauded "unprecedented cooperation" between the two neighbors in fighting Taliban and other extremist threats.

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The United States has estimated that 80 percent or more or civilian deaths are caused by militants, not U.S. or allied forces, but Obama and his advisers say they know the corrosive effect the airstrikes have on civilian support for the military mission.

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celticlord said:

Obama expresses regret for Afghan civilian deaths


So when will Dear Leader be charged with war crimes?


Dear Leader knows he's targeting civilian populations, and insists on doing it anyway. What other human rights violations is he hiding from us?

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Defense Department officials said late Wednesday that investigators were looking into reports from witnesses that the Afghan civilians were killed by grenades hurled by Taliban militants, and that they then drove the bodies around the village claiming the dead were victims of an American airstrike.

The initial examination of the site and of some of the bodies suggested the use of armaments more like grenades than the much larger bombs used by attack planes, said the official, who requested anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

“We cannot confirm the report that the Taliban executed these people,” said Capt. John Kirby, the spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. “We don’t know if it’s true, and we also don’t know how many civilians were killed as a result of this operation.”

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WillRockwell said:

Do you care about this? Probably not, as it doesn't square with your "Dear Leader" tripe:

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celticlord said:

So satire is wasted on such as you. Oh well....:2wave:

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