May 06, 2009
Everytime Obama wants to talk about corruption, Karzai will talk about ...
... air strikes.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Dozens of Afghan civilians were killed in American air raids in western Afghanistan, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday. But Afghan officials gave far higher death tolls, ranging from 100 to 130 or more.
The reports offered a grim backdrop to talks coming Wednesday afternoon in Washington between President Obama and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, whose office called the civilian deaths “unjustifiable and unacceptable” and said a government team had been sent to investigate. If the deaths are confirmed to have been from American bombing raid, this would be the largest case of civilian death in Afghanistan since Mr. Obama took office.
The continuing toll in civilian casualties has been a principal factor in turning many Afghans against the war to defeat the Taliban.
