Afghan president Hamid Karzai is accusing a US serviceman of gunning down 16-people including 9-children and 3-women. Another 5 Afghans were said to have been wounded.
A report in The Guardian claims the soldier walked off a military base and just began shooting. NATO has issued an apology and has the gunman in custody.
I think Afghans can understand this kind of thing happening. And probably forgive it. "Soldier goes nuts" is something understandable.
ReplyDeleteWhat will really people up the wall are NATO's carefully deliberated Drone Attacks, which end up killing innocent or even quasi-innocent people, with no real justice or accountability or strategic point. Or NATO's elevation of corrupt officials to power. Or being lectured by westerners, who have little stake in Afghanistan and are soon going to bugger-off, on how to run their country.
I think our relationship with the Afghan people and its government is pretty much fixed now. They despise us and we distrust them. At least that's the take of the current US commander there and recent events seem to bear him out.
ReplyDeleteOur relationship has reached such a dysfunctional level that it's hard to imagine anything particularly constructive and lasting we can still accomplish there.