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Afghanistan
Dutch Airstrike of Afghanistan in 2007 Ruled 'Unlawful' by Court in the Netherlands
2022-11-25
More on this story from yesterday.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A Dutch court found on Wednesday that the bombing of a civilian complex in the central Afghan province of Uruzgan by Dutch forces in June 2007 was "unlawful" and that the Netherlands should compensate for the victims’ losses.

In response to a report from a war veteran raising concerns about the legality of this action in the Chora valley of Uruzgan province, the Dutch Defense Ministry requested prosecutors look into this bombardment, which resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians.

In response to the incident that occurred during battle between multinational forces and the Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
 in the province of Uruzgan in central Afghanistan, four Afghans who were not identified in court documents reportedly sued the Dutch government.

Early on June 17, 2007, Dutch F-16 military aircraft launched 28 guided bombs in the region, 18 of which landed on "qalas," or fortified compounds, close to the major town of Chora, the evaluated.

According to Dutch court records, the wife, two daughters, three sons, and a daughter-in-law of one of the people who complained to the court were among the victims of this horrific bombing.

According to the court, Dutch soldiers had not made a proper distinction between military and civilian objectives.

The court further stated that the precise sum of compensation to be given to the attack victims will be determined at a later time, and the Dutch Defense Ministry said it will consider the court decision.
Posted by:Fred

#21  2022-2007 ~ 15?
Just about the time for angry muslim teens to take action.
Posted by: Skidmark   2022-11-25 22:13  

#20  Agreed. Who else could create a limerick with "epistemically" in it?
Posted by: Matt   2022-11-25 21:50  

#19  Not Snark o’the Day, but that is Limerick of the Month in my book, Zenobia F.

Posted by: trailing wife   2022-11-25 21:39  

#18  ^ well done
Posted by: Frank G   2022-11-25 20:42  

#17  The Knowin' Lear, or, Ed the Head

Epistemically, Comrade McCoy,
Epistemically sharp... for a goy...
Epistemically reeks
Of his smoke-covered peeks
At conspiracy theory tromp l'oeil.

I know, cheap shots... but pompous preachy [glances at mirror, winces] isn't many people's best look, eh?
Posted by: Zorba Slosh3174   2022-11-25 20:18  

#16  #12 Murcek, even in south Louisiana the pronunciation of French place names is wildly inconsistent. My favorite, though, is that a local municipality decided to name a street "Helios" as one of a group of streets named after figures in Greek mythology. But the guys who actually made the signs spelled it "Helois" because that sounded like good French. But then everyone pronounced the name as "hell-LOYS", which is neither French, Greek, or anything else. They've corrected the spelling on the signs, but no Yat would recognize "Helios Street" if you asked for directions.
Posted by: Matt   2022-11-25 20:16  

#15  Thank you ;-)
Posted by: Frank G   2022-11-25 19:45  

#14  I didn't even follow this til just now, and this thread made my Black Friday
Posted by: Frank G   2022-11-25 19:44  

#13  I can’t speak to gracious, Matt, though it’s kind of you to say so. For me all it takes is interesting people — beyond that it needn’t be more complicated than take-out pizza on paper plates and cheap wine while sitting on the living room floor, if that's all one can afford, or pot luck. Fancy is fun, too, but absolutely unnecessary.

It also helps to have at least one language in common with each of one’s guests, but they needn't all have the same language in common — as long as each has at least one other person with one language in common, translating adds to the fun. Different backgrounds, interests, careers has the same effect — much like here at Rantburg. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife   2022-11-25 19:19  

#12  Around western PeeAye, people pronouce Duquesne much as a Frenchman would, but, North Versailles is "North Versales" and Dubois is "DuBoys."
Posted by: M. Murcek    2022-11-25 19:16  

#11  Onamatopoea
I don't wanna see ya
Speakin'in a foreign tongue.

- John Prine
Posted by: M. Murcek    2022-11-25 18:59  

#10  I'm certain you are the most gracious of hostesses in any language, tw.
Posted by: Matt   2022-11-25 18:53  

#9  Use a word five times and it becomes yours.

One must say it aloud, though, which is where I got in trouble with paradigm. American English, particularly, has so many words that come from other languages that one can’t tell by reading it how many words ought to be pronounced. Even more particularly if one speaks more than one language, each with its own pronunciation patterns... It was at that point that I discovered what it feels like when an entire dinner party one is hosting stops in puzzlement, certain that the thing one said was a joke because they all knew I was too smart to have made that particular mistake by accident...
Posted by: trailing wife   2022-11-25 18:27  

#8  /\ "You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means" --Inigo Montoya.
...like trying to use yclept in a sentence (and not in a Scrabbleâ„¢ game).
Posted by: magpie   2022-11-25 15:44  

#7  The court further stated that the precise sum of compensation to be given to the attack victims will be determined at a later time,

Means 'we'll ask the Taliban and get back to you, keep your chequebook ready.'

Fuckin' idiots.
Posted by: Dron66046   2022-11-25 15:37  

#6  ^ And I'm sure we all use it in ordinary conversation. "The Astros are epistemically the best team in baseball." "Epistemically, the lady's dress is blue."
Posted by: Matt   2022-11-25 13:49  

#5  It has five syllables, Matt. That kind of thing always adds to a sentence, like diamonds to female earlobes and fingers,
Posted by: trailing wife   2022-11-25 13:46  

#4  "Epistemically"? What does that add to the sentence?
Posted by: Matt   2022-11-25 13:43  

#3  There were indeed war crimes, but not by the Dutch. Read this and this from the Rantburg archives.

Also read the Afghanistan entries all the rest of that month. The Taliban are very enthusiastic about using their civilians as human shields — both as bullet meat and forcing them to fight — as are the Palestinians, so perhaps it is characteristic of Moslem societies.
Posted by: trailing wife   2022-11-25 13:16  

#2  Obama is saying, hmmmmm.
Posted by: DooDahMan   2022-11-25 06:39  

#1  More war crimes from Western governments.

At what point do we acknowledge that they are epistemically evil? Because we passed the tip-over decades ago.
Posted by: Spike the Hairy6811   2022-11-25 06:38  

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