Killing Civilians (NYT)

[kpete]

Killing Civilians



Civilian Deaths Undermine Allies’ War on Taliban
By CARLOTTA GALL and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: May 13, 2007

ZERKOH, Afghanistan, May 9 — Scores of civilian deaths over the past months from heavy American and allied reliance on airstrikes to battle Taliban insurgents are threatening popular support for the Afghan government and creating severe strains within the NATO alliance.

Afghan, American and other foreign officials say they worry about the political toll the civilian deaths are exacting on President Hamid Karzai, who last week issued another harsh condemnation of the American and NATO tactics, and even of the entire international effort here.

What angers Afghans are not just the bombings, but also the raids of homes, the shootings of civilians in the streets and at checkpoints, and the failure to address those issues over the five years of war. Afghan patience is wearing dangerously thin, officials warn.

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/world/asia/13AFGHAN.html