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Kabul - The United Nations said Wednesday that 346 children were killed in Afghanistan last year, more than half of them by NATO forces, mostly in airstrikes. "In 2009, 346 children were killed," Radhika Coomaraswamy, the special representative of the UN secretary general for children and armed conflict, said in Kabul after a seven-day visit the country.She said 131 children were killed in airstrikes, while 22 were killed in nighttime raids by international special forces.
Taliban militants were responsible for the deaths of 128 children last year, with seven of the children used by militants as suicide bombers, she said. In 38 cases, it was not possible to determine who had killed the children.
More than 2,400 civilians were killed last year, the deadliest for Afghan civilians since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, according to the UN.
Coomaraswamy said she met with NATO commander in Afghanistan US General Stanley McChrystal, who assured her that troops "will work with the UN to ensure better protection for children."
But she noted that "recent events in the past months are cause of concern."
About 50 civilians have been killed since the NATO forces began their biggest-ever operation in the southern province of Helmand nearly two weeks ago. At least 27 of the casualties were caused by a NATO airstrike, and 12 others were killed by NATO rockets.
McChrystal said he has put protecting civilians at centre of his war strategy and has ordered the 113,000 international troops to limit the use of airstrikes.
Attacks by Taliban on schools reached their highest level in 2009, with more than 600 incidents recorded, Coomaraswamy said.
I guess adding another 30,000 troops would solve the problem, because we will have more casualties from both sides. Its funny how the U.S. Gen manges to lie to his people in the West about Afghanistan but in reality things are way worse than how he makes it sound. I Wonder why CNN and BBC News did not even mention that, if it was the Taliban who killed more children then the media would have been working hard to let everyone know.
i don't think our media even really wants to discuss the war, unless they think that something went particularly well.
the media is not concerned with "collateral damage" and, disappointingly, neither are many of our citizens, nor are they concerned with the cost of the war bankrupting our country.
of course, we may yet find out that karma is a b****.
we can add this little gem for today's news in the business as usual front:
Though the company remains under a cloud of suspicion for its shoddy work in Iraq, the US Army today announced that military contractor KBR would be awarded a $2.8 billion annual contract for a variety of new support work in Iraq.
KBR’s faulty electrical work has been blamed for the death of at least one US soldier in Iraq, and over a dozen other electrocution deaths have also been probed. YIKES!
If those kids parents didn't support the Taliban and their AQ brothers most of those kids would still be alive and their parents too.
Theolsarge, that was clearly an ignorant comment, first of all AQ does not even exist in Afghanistan anymore, they have less than 100 fighters. Second, the Afghani Taliban fighters are ordinary Afghans who get supported enormously in the countryside, the Taliban fighters dont interfere into their lives, they bring justice, they disarm anyone who doesn't belong to their group, they don't diffrentiate bettween the rich and poor, they're not drug addicts, they dont keep bacha bazis, and they're not corrupt.
Theolsarge stop blaming these poor families, because most of the time NATO/US know who they're targeting but they don't really care who they kill, because to them the ordinary afghans are the same as the Taliban. These people support the Taliban, because the government revives corruption, half of the police officers are drug addicts, crimes are not taken seriously by the government, etc.
Yes stop the muderous capitalist pigs! Baby killers! "Ordinary Afghans" were just minding their own business, yknow, delivering Girl Scout cookies and rocket launchers around town and all, when BOOM the evil Americans started bombing everything! I can't believe they have killed innocents during a war, when everyone knows you're only supposed to kill the soldiers! As if our bright shiny uniforms didn't make it clear which was which, the cowards!! So what if we use human shields and hide in mosques or what not? Just wait till we come out! blah! etc!
Theolsarge, that was clearly an ignorant comment, first of all AQ does not even exist in Afghanistan anymore, they have less than 100 fighters. Second, the Afghani Taliban fighters are ordinary Afghans who get supported enormously in the countryside, the Taliban fighters dont interfere into their lives, they bring justice, they disarm anyone who doesn't belong to their group, they don't diffrentiate bettween the rich and poor, they're not drug addicts, they dont keep bacha bazis, and they're not corrupt.
Theolsarge stop blaming these poor families, because most of the time NATO/US know who they're targeting but they don't really care who they kill, because to them the ordinary afghans are the same as the Taliban. These people support the Taliban, because the government revives corruption, half of the police officers are drug addicts, crimes are not taken seriously by the government, etc.
Nobody's blaming anybody, dude!
Fact of the matter is the Taliban supported and defended those that attacked the United States. We have the moral and legal right to attack those that attack us and those that support those that have attacked us. If you are a member of the Taliban you are the enemy! PERIOD! Don't want to be an enemy of the United States? SURRENDER!!! In the meantime be a decent parent and keep your kids from harms way.
Why don't you BLAME the Taliban for the other half? Why don't you BLAME the irresponsible parents?
Fact of the matter is the Taliban supported and defended those that attacked the United States.
Please read this carefully so you understand the truth
The then-41-year-old (now 50) mullah said the "Islamic Emirate had offered the United States and the United Nations to place international monitors to observe Osama bin Laden pending the resolution of the case, but so far we have received no reply."
Mullah Omar told us the Taliban regime would like to "resolve or dissolve" the bin Laden issue. In return, he expected the United States to establish a dialogue to work out an acceptable solution that would lead to "an easing and then lifting of UN sanctions that are strangling and killing the people of the emirate."
We have the moral and legal right to attack those that attack us and those that support those that have attacked us. If you are a member of the Taliban you are the enemy! PERIOD! Don't want to be an enemy of the United States? SURRENDER!!! In the meantime be a decent parent and keep your kids from harms way.
So what happend to Al-Qaeda, i thought they were the main reason the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, after Al-Qaeda was eliminated, the Taliban were considered an enemy by US/NATO just so they extend their time in Afghanistan.
Thats why you have the U.S. today trying to convince the Taliban fighters to surrender their arms, please don't believe everything the media says, 8 years ago NATO listed anyone with the Taliban on their wanted list, today they're begging these fighters to surrender and their commanders to join the government.
Im not a member of the Taliban lol, i just stand for the truth, and people like you seem to lose their patience fast because i have diffrent views, but thankfully i know this war from both sides.
The parents can't stop their kids from joining the Taliban, because these kids most of the time join the group to get rid of corruption and get their revenge on NATO for the destruction they brought to their people, villages, etc. Plus the Taliban get supported enormously, because the government is corrupt, life is way worse today for an ordinary Afghan than it was under the Taliban because the current government only helps the rich Afghans while the poor ones suffer and also on top of that you have brutal warlords who were welcomed back by the U.S., they were responsible for the destruction of Afghanistan, drug addiction rised to 4% since the invasion, bacha bazi actitivities is increasing, women are getting harrased more now, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by theolsarge
Why don't you BLAME the Taliban for the other half? Why don't you BLAME the irresponsible parents?
I do blame the Taliban for the other ones but they managed to kill less children without even having the technological advancements that NATO has, because if the Taliban were equipped the same way as NATO then the number of casulties would be way lower on their part.
As for irresponsible, i have already explained why the parents themselves welcome the Taliban.
Yes stop the muderous capitalist pigs! Baby killers! "Ordinary Afghans" were just minding their own business, yknow, delivering Girl Scout cookies and rocket launchers around town and all, when BOOM the evil Americans started bombing everything! I can't believe they have killed innocents during a war, when everyone knows you're only supposed to kill the soldiers! As if our bright shiny uniforms didn't make it clear which was which, the cowards!! So what if we use human shields and hide in mosques or what not? Just wait till we come out! blah! etc!
Im not a Bin-Laden supporter get your facts straight, i only stand for the truth, anyways both the Taliban and the U.S. do this watch this vid,
Im not a member of the Taliban lol, i just stand for the truth,
Sure you do.
Quote:
and people like you seem to lose their patience fast because i have diffrent views,
No, we lose patience because you're spouting blatant silliness.
Quote:
but thankfully i know this war from both sides.
Both sides of what? Kabul?
Quote:
if the Taliban were equipped the same way as NATO then the number of casulties would be way lower
LOL Yeah because they have such a history of kindly, humanitarian treatment of others - esp people who dare to disagree w/them politically or religiously.
No, we lose patience because you're spouting blatant silliness.
Well sorry in reality things are way different then how the media make things sound
Quote:
Originally Posted by joey2000
Both sides of what? Kabul?
I meant that i understood this conflict from the western point of view, and the eastern point of view.
Quote:
Originally Posted by joey2000
LOL Yeah because they have such a history of kindly, humanitarian treatment of others - esp people who dare to disagree w/them politically or religiously.
Well they were the least brutal group among the warlords with intentions to improve the country. The Taliban did treat ordinary Afghans better than Karzai's government, they respected the poor, they listened to their needs, they gave money away to those in need, the Taliban senior officials themselves were simple people.
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Yeah because they have such a history of kindly, humanitarian treatment of others - esp people who dare to disagree w/them politically or religiously.
