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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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US to Cut Down on Afghan Airstrikes

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(Newser) – The US military is tightening its rules regarding airstrikes in Afghanistan, in the face of mounting civilian casualties, the New York Times reports. Airstrikes will now be used mostly to prevent coalition forces from being overrun, new Afghan commander Stanley McChrystal announced. “Air power contains the seeds of our own destruction if we do not use it responsibly,” he told senior officers last week. “We can lose this fight.”

US airstrikes have killed hundreds of civilians and angered the Afghan government. Public outrage ran particularly hot last month, when an airstrike killed dozens in the village of Granai; a Pentagon report later concluded that many errors had been made. The Pentagon said 26 civilians had been killed, but the Afghan government put the number at 140.

An Afghan girl looks for her belongings in her house which was destroyed in the coalition air strike on Monday night in Bala Baluk district of Afghanistan, Friday, May 8, 2009.
An Afghan girl looks for her belongings in her house which was destroyed in the coalition air strike on Monday night in Bala Baluk district of Afghanistan, Friday, May 8, 2009.   (AP Photo)
U.S. Marines CW02 John Daly looks out from the back of his vehicle as coalition air strikes hit a Taliban position, June 20, 2009.
U.S. Marines CW02 John Daly looks out from the back of his vehicle as coalition air strikes hit a Taliban position, June 20, 2009.   (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
In this June 2, 2009 file photo, Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, then President Barack Obama's nominee to be commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, testifies on Capitol Hill.
In this June 2, 2009 file photo, Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, then President Barack Obama's nominee to be commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, testifies on Capitol Hill.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
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9 comments
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JonmarkP
Jun 22, 09 1:27 PM CDT
The purpose of the war on Afghanistan is to pump tax money into the pockets of war profiteers and campaign contributors - this is state-sponsored murder for private profit. Please, stop pretending it's anything else. Reply
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godawgs
Jun 22, 09 1:41 PM CDT
So will you be as hard on this war since its Obama's as you were on bush/cheney?
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2-bits
Jun 22, 09 2:34 PM CDT
I actually agree with you, godawgs. The planets must be aligned. Why are we still in Afghanistan?
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Deebles
Jun 22, 09 9:39 PM CDT
Personally, my vote is beginning to wear me out.
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JonmarkP
Jun 22, 09 2:42 PM CDT
Bush and Cheney never pretended to be anything but greedy, muderous swine and corporate toads. Obama is more a bait-and-switch kind of guy, like the detestable Bill ("ship the jobs overseas") Clinton. That said, it's not "Obama's war," it's our war-and it's up to us to stop it. Reply
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