(DOD) US trying to avoid Afghan deaths but war is 'ugly'

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The United States is doing all it can to safeguard civilians in Afghanistan but incidents like the airstrike that killed 27 people on Sunday are inherent in war, the U.S. defense secretary said on Monday.

Robert Gates defended the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, following the latest deaths, which the Afghan cabinet has condemned as unjustifiable and which undermine efforts to win civilian support.

"The thing to remember is that we're at war," Gates told reporters. "General McChrystal is doing everything humanly possible to avoid civilian casualties."

Gates stressed that U.S. efforts to fight the Taliban, who are at their strongest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, were complicated by an insurgency that uses "civilians for cover."

"I'm not defending it at all. I'm just saying that these kinds of things, in many respects, are inherent in a war. It's what makes war so ugly," Gates said.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22136406.htm

[Arctic Dave]

1. We are in an occupation.

[polly7]

2. Was 'war' ever declared on Afghanistan?

I thought war was between two armies.

9/11 was a crime, neither the Afghanistani people nor its gov't sanctioned it, nor do they deserve this bloodbath they've been handed.

[timtom]

3. War?

WHAT f***ing war???

[EFerrari]

4. Gates, career Bush fixer, defending MyChrystal, who hides prisoners from the ICRC.

I can't express how disgusting this is.

[humbled_opinion]

5. You want to Avoid KILLING?

End this costly, nonsensical, unnecessary quagmire, imperialist killing spree. Otherwise accept responsibility for your part in allowing the indiscriminate murder of Human beings. Don't try that cowardly crap about how ugly, and tough war is... It sickens me that people try to justify....

p.s. Obama do the right thing and give back the Nobel Peace Prize you certainly haven't earned it.

[Mari333]

8. he can put his peace prize where the sun doesnt shine

[truth2power]

6. Didn't Rumsfeld say something like this? "Sh*t happens". or....

Stuff happens. Maybe it was "Freedom is messy." Whatever. This guy sounds a lot like Rummy.

Plus ca change...

[Mari333]

7. FUCK the DOD and FUCK this Propaganda

and fuck the bush admin and the obama admin and every corporatist murdering our soldiers.

fuck them all.

[Goldstein1984]

9. Was it just messy, or is the leadership just sloppy and incompetent?

I'm confident that history will place these illegal wars in their proper perspective, and that both the Bush/Cheney and Obama/Biden administrations will share a chapter on 21st Century Imperialism and war crimes.

[swilton]

10. Anyone here ask for an omlette?

[aquart]

11. Here's a thought: LEAVE.

[classysassy]

12. Revenge

"Revenge is the ragin fire that consumes the arsonist.