Article

2008-09-02 Afghanistan

US probe finds fewer Afghan deaths than UN claimed

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Posted by ed 2008-09-02 13:49|| || Front Page|| [7 views ] Top

#1 A few days old: One American military official, who has seen photographs taken at the scene as troops went house to house assessing damage and casualties, said there was no evidence to support the higher civilian death toll. Nor was there any evidence of a large number of recently dug graves or large number of injuries reported in local hospitals, the official said.
...
American commanders said that even before the shooting started, allied troops saw women and children fleeing the compound into the night.

By dawn, the fighting had ended. Combat photographers documented the scene, according to the Americans. In addition to the 25 militants, including Mullah Sadiq, two women and three children were killed, possibly in the cross-fire, American officials said. One woman and one child who were wounded in the fighting were flown on American helicopters to receive medical attention, the Americans said.

The allied forces seized several dozen men in the compound, eventually releasing all but about half a dozen. There were no women or children left in the compound, American officials said.

The Afghan and American forces seized several assault rifles, 4,000 rounds of ammunition, mines, bomb-making materials, grenades, $4,000 in American and Afghan currency, as well as photographs of the exterior of American bases in the area, the Americans said.

Posted by ed 2008-09-02 14:04|| 2008-09-02 14:04|| Front Page Top

#2 Hmm. Should have provided a separate the link and italicized the text. PIMF.

Done. No charge.

Posted by ed 2008-09-02 14:05|| 2008-09-02 14:05|| Front Page Top

#3 However, Nek Mohammad Ishaq, a provincial council member in Herat and a member of the Afghan commission, has said photographs and video of the victims were with Afghanistan's secretive intelligence service.

Why would they classify this kind of information? I call BS.

Especially in light of the fact that someone(s) is just dying to pin a good one on the Coalition. If they had evidence, it would be all over the news in a heartbeat, and probably through official sources. Again, someone got overexcited about the prospect of finally getting the evidence they've been having wet dreams about and now has to backpedal to cover their terrorist a$$, and it looks like once again the Coalition gets to play the role of scapegoat because they know we won't pound their primitive/worthless a$$ and/or kill their family.

In terms of PR value and manpower, I'm beginning to think that perhaps it would be cheaper and easier to just park a surveillance drone then a satellite over these scenes and watch to see if Paleo Productions shows up to stage another massacre scene (probably 10 seconds after the obvious drone flies off). If they don't react in 72 hours I figure we can call it a done deal, since they seem to be so anxious about burying their dead in a secret location within ten minutes so they can run down and turn in their pre-filled bereavement claim forms. That would put that kind of $hit to rest once and for all. Even if Paleo Productions didn't show up, it would be interesting to hear the locals explain how they buried their dead without it showing up on the satellite surveillance. And if activity does show up, go there with some forensic teams and see what they really buried there.

Posted by gorb 2008-09-02 16:08|| 2008-09-02 16:08|| Front Page Top

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