The turmoil in North Africa has diverted our attention from the war against the Axis of Evil in Afghanistan. Of late, the Forces of Democracy haven't suffered as many casualties as in the past, but the total body count has decreased only a little. Afghan civilians are still being killed by the score, sometimes by "insurgents" and sometimes by ... errr ... the NATO invaders.
Many western eyebrows were raised and faces reddened last week wheN it was revealed that nine Afghan boys had been killed by NATO helicopters -- by mistake, of course. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates described their deaths as a "setback".
"Not only is their loss a tragedy for their families, it is a setback for our relationship with the Afghan people," he told a media conference in Kabul.
Mr. Gates was on an unannounced trip to assess security progress. He did not reveal his assessment, but repeated Washington's apology for the killing of the boys, which has increased strain on an already testy relationship with Afghan President Karzai.
The Puppet-in-Chief had earlier rejected a surprisingly candid apology by General David Petraeus, commander of the ISAF. [Please check. Typo for "USAF"? Ed.] "It may be a setback to you," growled the Afghan prez, "but not nearly so much as it was to those kids!"
Said Joshua Foust, a fellow at the American Security Project, "There is legitimate and growing anger within Afghanistan over ISAF-caused deaths."
However, Major General John Campbell, ISAF commander in the east, said 90 percent of civilian casualties in his area were caused by insurgents. So that's all right, then.
Walt to Ed.: OK, I checked. ISAF stands for "International Setback Amelioration Force".
Ed. to Walt: Check again.
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