Afghan president calls for fewer airstrikes

[unhappycamper]

Afghan president calls for fewer airstrikes
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Oct 26, 2007 18:10:28 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan President Hamid Karzai is calling for the United States and NATO to cut back on airstrikes in the battle against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants, saying too many civilians have been killed.

Karzai said that six years after the U.S.-led invasion the Afghan people “cannot comprehend as to why there is still a need for air power.”

“The United States and the coalition forces are not deliberately. The United States is here to help the Afghan people,” Karzai told CBS’s “60 Minutes” for a story scheduled to air Sunday night.

Asked if he wants the use of airstrikes curtailed, Karzai replies, “Absolutely. Oh, yes, in clear words and I want to repeat that. alternatives to the use of air force.”

At least 700 civilians have died because of insurgency-related violence this year, and about half of those deaths were caused by U.S. or NATO military action, often because of airstrikes hitting civilian homes, according to an Associated Press tally based on numbers from Afghan and Western officials.

The use of airpower is key to the U.S. and NATO fight against insurgents because of Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain and the sheer size of the country. U.S. and NATO officials say Taliban fighters frequently attack their soldiers from civilian homes that the insurgents have commandeered.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/airforce_afghan_airstrikes_071026/



uhc comment: Afghanistan is almost the size of Texas, and we have a whopping NATO presence of about 32,000 troops.