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Petraeus Suspends Commander and Troops Involved in Killing of Afghan Children
Sunday, March 20, 2011

Gen. David Petraeus

America’s top military commander in Afghanistan has taken action against those accused of killing two local youths who were tending their farms in the eastern province of Kunar.

General David Petraeus suspended a ground forces commander and the helicopter air weapons team that opened fire on two boys, age 10 and 15, who were watering their field, and not planting a roadside bomb, as initially suspected.

“We know we cannot succeed if we harm the people we are striving to protect,” Petraeus said in a prepared statement after announcing the suspensions of the military personnel involved in the attack. Disciplinary action may be taken against the soldiers once a formal investigation is completed.

Twice this month Petraeus has had to issue public apologies for U.S. attacks on children. On March 1, nine boys in Kunar were killed while gathering firewood on a mountainside, after being mistaken for insurgents.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

ISAF Suspends Ground Commander, Helicopter Crew During Investigation into Civilian Deaths in Kunar (by Bill Roggio, Long War Journal)

General Apologizes for Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan (Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs)

Killing Children in Afghanistan…As Americans Say Enough is Enough (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Comments

unnecessary - 3/21/2011 7:58:03 PM
you do not know what you are talking about or anything about the situation you are making a comment on... how dare you judge the motives, morals, or character of the people involved in this unfortunate accident... and yes i KNOW the situation in its entirety and not just a news blurb... i can tell you that at least one of these soldiers involved has decided to change their job because they can no longer do it... the result of the decision to fire upon what appeared to be two men laying down an ied is laying heavy upon that soldier's heart and i thank God that we have the faith and courage to know that God is in this situation and that things will work out for the best, so please, unless you know exactly what went on, keep your comments to yourself

Andrew - 3/21/2011 3:46:31 PM
In Vietnam, US troops in a similar counter-guerilla groups took the ears of their victims as trophies. The US authorities made no prosecutions. "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

ghouri - 3/21/2011 5:07:18 AM
This is not a solution as the americans kill civilians repeatedly and no one can stop them and is a reality. American soldiers have become sardists like old Romans to kill slaves and we are in the modern age slave of america. Look in Pakistan they have killed 45 Jirga elders through drone attacks and I am sure Allah will punish them for illegal killings why americans don,t kill their own citizens to satisfy their cannibal character.

Jackson Wallace - 3/21/2011 12:03:07 AM
Guarantee these disgraces to the USA will come home and kill more people, but hopefully only themselves or maybe they'll finally learn the reality that violence solves nothing, particularly violence created in you to do the bidding of the filthy corporate rich. A grown man killing a 10-year-old farming? Good luck in eternity, buddy. This is a stain on wherever he came from as well, and the army he came from, because not every country acts like this, only mutants told they are 'the greatest in the world' How can anyone seriously believe that? Proof not words, people.

Doublespeak - 3/20/2011 9:45:28 PM
And if this was to happen to your loved ones Dana P would you write them off in this fashion as a "heart wrenching decision" or "saddened"? Call them "Incidental collateral damage" perhaps? It shows us the complete disregard these people have for human life & how the sanctity of life means nothing to those in Washington before the Kool-Aid of Empire.

Mannon S. - 3/20/2011 5:55:31 PM
@ Dana P. As long as they are not your grandchildren, correct? for an enlightenment episode watch the video leaked by US Army private Bradley Manning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-byU_92NcN8 , then do a little insight on the number of civil deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq as a direct result of NaTO forces, security contractors (Black Water), etc, or the simplest task of "goggling" for Abeer Qasim Hamza, then go to bed, and keep dreaming about the integrity and ethic compasses of those protecting "your" troops (should we say tools?), but more concisely, those orchestrating the acts. The majority of "terrorists" responsible for the 9/11 attacks were Saudi not Iraqis; number of US hommies killed in Iraq: @ 4500. Number of Iraqi orphans: @45 thousand. A recruitment stand is present in every college and state university. "I followed orders" "in the name of science" -Joseph Mengele WE ARE NOT YOUR SOLDIERS!!! www.worldcantwait.org sleep tight Dana P.

Dana P. - 3/20/2011 6:59:38 AM
Too many times Americans judge these killing based on what we know of our own children. In these wartime situations, women and children are specifically used to kill our troops. Our enemies know that our men are raised to protect women and children. They use this to harm and destroy our troops. A commander has seconds to decide if their men are in trouble. We must accept that there are times that a commander must make a heart wrenching decision to protect their troop. It saddens me that sometimes innocent people are caught in such a way, but I do believe that we must support the men and women who must make such decisions in such a chaotic situation.