McChrystal Surprised by 'Breadth of Violence'

Civilian death spark outrage before Kandahar push

(NEWSER) - Anti-American riots swept Kandahar yesterday after American troops opened fire on a passenger bus, killing at least 4 civilians and wounding 18. Accounts of the incident—which deals a massive blow to NATO's hopes of winning over the local population before its upcoming offensive in the area—vary widely. NATO says troops opened fire after the bus ignored warnings to stop, but some witnesses say it had already pulled over, the Independent reports. More»

Anger over civilian deaths grows

(NEWSER) - When a NATO raid killed 10 children and teenagers at a remote mountain compound in Afghanistan last December, troops claimed to be targeting a “known insurgent group responsible for a series of violent attacks.” But after a lengthy investigation by the Times of London, NATO now admits that the boys killed—all of them between 12 and 18, eight of them members of the same family—were innocent civilians without connections to insurgent activity. More»

Death caused by allied forces down 28%

(AP) - The number of Afghan civilians who died in war-related violence last year soared to the highest annual level since the conflict began in 2001, with nearly 70% blamed on insurgents, according the the UN, and 25% to allied forces. The UN mission in Afghanistan said 2,412 civilians were killed in 2000—a 14% increase over 2008. The deaths caused by allied forces show a 28% drop over the previous year. More»

(NEWSER) - With US casualties mounting in Afghanistan, some members of Congress are questioning recent orders that have put troops at greater risk in order to protect Afghan civilians, the Washington Post reports. Gen. Stanley McChrystal recently berated the military for being “preoccupied with protection of our own forces.” He ordered soldiers to spend less time in fortified areas, and issued rules limiting airstrikes. The result? Civilian deaths plummeted this summer, but military casualties more than doubled. More»

Now we've only met half our goals, he says

(NEWSER) - After a decade of fighting in Afghanistan, the US and its NATO allies are only "a little better than" halfway to meeting their war goals, Gen. Stanley McChrystal warns. The former commander of coalition forces says the slow progress is largely due to the US not knowing what it was getting into, AP reports."We didn't know enough and we still don't know enough," he says. "Most of us—me included—had a very superficial understanding of the situation and history, and we had a frighteningly simplistic view of recent history." More»