Stupid and Evil
Reader cutaway notes the disturbing moral equivalency expressed in the headline choice on this Reuters story: US-led Raid, Suicide Bomber Kill 12 Afghans
The stupid part is a headline writer who fails to distinguish one side from the other. The reporter did make a distinction, however, and advances beyond stupid. Read and see if you can figure out who Reuters thinks is a bigger problem in Afghanistan:
U.S.-led troops killed at least four people, including a teenage girl, in a raid in southeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday and a suicide bomber killed eight more in the south, residents, officials and coalition forces said.
The target of the suicide bomber was the governor of Helmand, Mohammad Daud, who escaped unhurt, the officials said.
… Hours before the blast, U.S.-led forces killed at least four people in the southeastern province of Khost where the Taliban and their Islamic allies are highly active.
… Residents say the U.S.-led force, backed by Afghan militias, broke into a house, drawing fire from the occupants who thought they were thieves. Four people were killed and seven wounded — all of them civilians, they said.
The U.S.-led coalition said in a statement the raid killed five people — four suspected terrorists and a young girl. The troops requested the surrender of those in the compound.
“The suspected terrorists refused to comply with verbal warnings and began firing,” the statement said.
“Enemies of the Afghan government continue to place women and children in harm’s way by conducting illegal activities within common living areas, placing entire families at risk,” the statement said.
… Thousands of civilians have been killed during fighting since the Taliban’s ouster. Civilian deaths are a sensitive issue for the foreign forces and President Hamid Karzai’s government, which largely relies on foreign funds and on foreign soldiers.
… On a rare trip to the southern city of Kandahar, Karzai said he had urged NATO commanders to use all possible means to avoid civilian casualties.
Reuters subtext: bad Americans just won’t listen to their cowardly puppet. Meanwhile, re that “Thousands of civilians have been killed … ” line, would be interested to see what the estimates are, what they are based on, and who is doing the killing. As we’ve seen in another theater of this war, there has been a tendency to exaggerate. And in this case, as with the headline, perhaps a pointed fuzziness in presentation.
Topics: Uncategorized
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:29 pm on Tuesday, December 12, 2006
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