Karzai Has A Point

Now there's thought I never thought I'd have!  After listening to the stories on the news at noon about the numbers of children being tortured, yes, tortured, and killed in Syria, it brought to mind Karzai and his demands.

Once again Karzai has taken coalition forces to task for attacks on civilian enclaves.  It seems to be a weekly occurrence.  He complains so often I have to think there is something to it.  We attack and kill a targeted terrorist. Hopefully. Unfortunately the strike usually includes women and children.  Karzai complains.  We apologize.  And do it all over again.  What a way to fight a war.

I've been of the mind that war is war and there will be civilian casualties.  It's the nature of the beast.  But break down the word civilian and the whole scenario changes.  Women and children, non combatant men, the elderly.  The latest, last week, was 18. Many women.  Many children.

I don't like Mr. Karzai.  I don't believe he's an honest partner in our war against Islamic extremists and he's greedy.  On the other hand, he's tired of seeing innocent people, his people, slaughtered in the quest for often just a single individual.  So he wants all bombing of Afghan cities, towns and villages banned.  Even if coalition forces are under attack.  I see where he's coming from.  When they are shooting at us, we're all the enemy.  When we shoot at them, only scant intelligence tells us at whom we're shooting.  Sometimes the targeted person is present and sometimes not but people always get killed and it's obviously not necessarily the target.

Another argument for capturing the enemy rather than merely blowing them away.  Intelligence.  Of course a boots on the ground shooting war puts our troops in harms way and is far more difficult than using drones and other means of air attack.  It would be a good time to re-evaluate the war wouldn't it?  Are our troops and their women and children, any of their civilians, worth the end?  What is the end?  As of now it won't be victory, merely withdrawal.  If I had the money to bet, I'd bet the Taliban and al Qaeda will be out in full force before our dust has settled.

From Where Have All the Flowers Gone there's a telling verse.  "Where have all the soldiers gone?  Gone to graveyards, every one."  That's bad enough.  At least spare the children!  But then in war civilians get killed.  And that is another of the myriad of reasons I hate war.