![producermatthew:
Massive Military Mistake: The U.S. Defense Department admitted on Monday that an airstrike in Afghanistan three days earlier accidentally killed a mother and her five children. The airstrike mistakenly targeted a family home in the Sangin district, according to the New York Times. The strike was in retaliation for a Taliban attack, the paper said. The regional commander, Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus, is expected to issue a formal apology for the strike in a few days. [Photo: AP]
New York Times: U.S. confirms Afghan strike that killed mom, children
Feels like the U.S. is stepping on eggshells after prior incidents hurt their rep in the region.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3pxi9rCCK1qz5ew6o1_500.jpg)
Massive Military Mistake: The U.S. Defense Department admitted on Monday that an airstrike in Afghanistan three days earlier accidentally killed a mother and her five children. The airstrike mistakenly targeted a family home in the Sangin district, according to the New York Times. The strike was in retaliation for a Taliban attack, the paper said. The regional commander, Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus, is expected to issue a formal apology for the strike in a few days. [Photo: AP]
New York Times: U.S. confirms Afghan strike that killed mom, children
Feels like the U.S. is stepping on eggshells after prior incidents hurt their rep in the region.
“These days, it takes only seconds for one picture to suddenly become an international headline.” That’s what our boy Leon Panetta has to say about the recent spate of videos, photos and incidents that have come out of the Afghan War lately. Panetta’s ship certainly isn’t a clean one — between videos showing soldiers urinating on bodies, soldiers inadvertently burning copies of the Koran, and a series of graphic photos the Los Angeles Times got a hold of, the Defense Department is feeling a lot of pressure to prevent more incidents like these — and has issued a crackdown to that effect. “Those headlines can impact the mission we’re engaged in, they can put your fellow service members at risk, they can hurt morale, and they can damage our standing in the world,” Panetta says. (photo by Jim Greenhill) source
Bruce’s wife tragically witnessed her husband’s death during one of their regular Skype video-chats on Monday. At the time of the incident, the family was hoping for a rescue and miracle, but later learned that it was not to be.Bradley Taber-Thomas, brother-in-law of U.S. Army Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark • Discussing the distressing way Clark’s wife learned of her Afghanistan-stationed husband’s death earlier this week — while the two were having a video chat on Skype. ”Although the circumstances were unimaginable, Bruce’s wife and extended family will be forever thankful that he and his wife were together in his last moments,” Taber-Thomas said. So sad. (via Stefan Becket)
Before most people knew Obama was in Afghanistan, many rumors abounded about whether or not he actually was there. The White House’s national security team went on the offensive in an attempt to squash the stories, which started when an Afghan news source reported the president had landed in the country. (The president was actually in transit at the time, not in Afghanistan.) But that didn’t exactly calm nerves in the White House, which called up journalists asking them to take down tweets and stories in an effort to keep the president out of danger. Pretty crazy, right? On a side note, be sure to check out what the president signed yesterday.
Duck and cover here at the embassy. Not a drill - avoid the area.
— U.S. Embassy Kabul (@USEmbassyKabul) May 2, 2012
Reports are coming out that a large explosion went off in Kabul, Afghanistan, sometime after a major speech on the Afghan war was given by President Obama at Bagram Air Base. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a warning immediately, tweeting the above as well as telling staff to “take cover, move away from the windows,” according to AFP, whose bureau is nearby the embassy — more on this as details emerge.
It’s a document with a pretty intimidating name, that’s for sure. Obama’s trip to Afghanistan early Wednesday local time seemed loaded with mystery — few knew he was there until he was actually there. He was there to sign a document that many watching the news had no idea existed until today. And the document itself is the definition of how a long-standing war will finally end, thirteen years after it started — at least as far as combat troops go. This document, just eight pages, was so important that the White House had to release a fact sheet to explain it to the average joe. What does it mean to you, anyway? Here are three things you should take from the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement:
» So what’s the end date? The end of the document says this clearly: “It shall remain in force until the end of 2024.” (It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time this end date has been bandied about.) Which means, at that rate, the events around the Afghan War will be completely said and done 23 years after it started, though combat troops should be long gone. Hopefully.
I recognize that many Americans are tired of war. I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security. But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly.President Barack Obama • Speaking in a televised speech in Afghanistan, hours after landing at a military base near Kabul in a surprise visit. While emphasizing the need to end the war — the last combat troops are expected to leave in 2014 — he spoke of the importance of seeing the mission through. “The goal that I set, to defeat Al Qaeda and deny it the chance to rebuild, is now within our reach,” he said. While in Afghanistan, the president signed a document with Afghan president Hamid Karzai “Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement,” meant to clarify the American role in the country after the war.
![reuters:
DEVELOPING:
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker upon his arrival at Bagram Air Base in Kabul, Afghanistan May 1, 2012. [REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque]
READ MORE: Obama lands in Afghanistan on OBL death anniversary
He knows how to show up at just the right time, doesn’t he?](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3czvvVZ9r1qmaoalo1_500.jpg)
DEVELOPING:
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker upon his arrival at Bagram Air Base in Kabul, Afghanistan May 1, 2012. [REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque]
READ MORE: Obama lands in Afghanistan on OBL death anniversary
He knows how to show up at just the right time, doesn’t he?
The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan is under-reporting the number of times that Afghan soldiers and police open fire on American and other foreign troops.
The coalition routinely reports attacks in which a coalition soldier is killed by an Afghan in uniform. But it does not report the instances in which an Afghan wounds U.S. or NATO troops or misses his target.
So, what don’t we know? Do we want to know?
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» An Afghan soldier opened fire on members of the U.S. military, from a nearby rooftop, killing one soldier and the local interpreter who was accompanying him. The gunman managed to wound three more soldiers before being killed by return fire. Three United States soldiers were also killed in eastern Afghanistan, all victims of a bombing, as were three Afghan women after the house they sought shelter in was hit by a Taliban mortar shell. Details on all of the deceased were released under the condition of anonymity by U.S. officials.
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» Officials suspect extremists against education for women: Tuesday’s incident, which sickened women and girls between the ages of 14 and 30, left many of them dizzy and many others unconscious. “Looking at the health condition of these girls, I can definitely say that their water was contaminated by some sort of poison,” said Dr. Hafizullah Safi. ”But we don’t know yet what was the water exactly contaminated with.” Afghanistan has long faced issues with violence against women — in fact, a similar incident to this one took place in 2010.
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Taliban commander turns self in for reward money: Mid-level Taliban official Mohammad Ashan saw this poster with his face on it. Then he saw that there was a $100 finder’s fee. So he checked into a police checkpoint last week … demanding the finder’s fee. Officials confirmed it was him via biometric scan. “This guy is the Taliban equivalent of the ‘Home Alone” burglars,” a U.S. official says.
Afghans have harshly criticized night raids carried out by U.S. forces, calling them an affront to Afghans’ culture and way of life. U.S. military leaders, however, have deemed them an extremely effective tactic to root out Taliban insurgents and commanders. The raids were just one source of tension in a difficult U.S.-Afghan partnership that has rapidly deteriorated with the killings of 16 Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier in Kandahar province last month, and the accidental burning of a Koran at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan in February.
Under the agreement reached Sunday, a special panel made up of members of Afghan security officials will authorize all future night raids. Afghan special operations forces will take the lead in night raid operations, with U.S. troops taking on a supporting role. Only Afghan troops will be allowed to search private homes and compounds, and U.S. forces cannot enter the homes unless their Afghan counterparts request them to do so, according to the pact.
The deal is seen as a stepping stone towards the eventual American withdrawal in Afghanistan, expected to happen at the end of 2014.
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