Afghanistan: Taliban using 'human shields'

[Frankie]

Bunch of @sswipes.


Afghanistan: Taliban using 'human shields'

US-led troops in Helmand run into fresh resistance from the Taliban who are using women and children as shields.

On the ground, the top Afghan general in the battle on Wednesday accused the Taliban of hiding behind human shields.

"They have taken people hostage. Our troops have seen them putting women and children on the roofs of houses and firing from behind them," said General Moheedin Ghori, commander of the 4,400 Afghan troops taking part.

"We have strict orders not to fire at civilian areas."

The US commander, General Stanley McChrystal, has ordered that civilians be protected in a strategy seeking to harness military might and development in order to crush the Taliban and establish Western-backed government control.

US, Afghan and Nato generals spent months planning the assault on the drugs and Taliban nexus of Marjah, home to around 80,000 people in the southern province of Helmand.

 

[killadoob]

That is war, innocent people die frankie. Nobody really cares dude.

I mean the US did not care how many innocent people they "accidentally" killed in the beginning days of the Iraq war when they bombed the living shyte out of the place, collateral damage is what i keep hearing.

 

[Helghast]

WTF!

 

[marine1]

That is war, innocent people die frankie. Nobody really cares dude.

I mean the US did not care how many innocent people they "accidentally" killed in the beginning days of the Iraq war when they bombed the living shyte out of the place, collateral damage is what i keep hearing.

Bwahahaha yeah thats the same thing

 

[armitage]

Ouch. tough one for the US.
Was watching a doccie a while ago about the new orders re. civilians. Basically the army is a lot more cautious to use artillery, jets or heli's close to where civilians are. Hell the one section showed the whole decision process to just deploy a jet to an area. Didn't happen in that case as there were civilians close by. This is quite a marked departure from what they were doing just a few months earlier. A jet/bomber would take off from an airfield and not return with any bombs left over almost 90% of the time.
Collateral damage is finally being seen as a hinderence to their ultimate goal. Acceptance of US/Friendly relations. You can't win over the population if you keep on bombing them from afar.

Anyways. Hats off to the taliban commanders using the american's new rules of engagement against them. Sneaky I say. Hopefully the taliban's tactics will have the population up in arms against them. The big part of the war is to win over the population and have them turn their backs on the taliban.

 

[Alan]

That is war, innocent people die frankie. Nobody really cares dude.

I mean the US did not care how many innocent people they "accidentally" killed in the beginning days of the Iraq war when they bombed the living shyte out of the place, collateral damage is what i keep hearing.

Yeah I recall masses of B52s carpet bombing Baghdad flattening the place.....