Afghan president seeks to limit NATO airstrikes
Now if the Big K will just order the Taliban to stop taking refuge in houses, we will be set for a Kumbaya festival and Central Asian Woodstock. K can always take his loot and flee to the Riviera, so he is not concerned about the consequences of this order, especially for, say, little girls who want to learn to read and write.
Angered by civilian casualties, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he will no longer allow NATO airstrikes on houses, issuing his strongest statement yet against strikes that the military alliance says are key to its war on Taliban insurgents.The president’s remarks follow a recent strike that mistakenly killed a group of children and women in southern Helmand province. He said it would be the last.
“From this moment, airstrikes on the houses of people are not allowed,” Karzai told reporters in Kabul.
NATO says it never conducts such strikes without Afghan government coordination and approval. A spokesman for NATO forces in Afghanistan said they will review their procedures for airstrikes given Karzai’s statement but did not say that it would force any immediate change in tactics.
“In the days and weeks ahead we will coordinate very closely with President Karzai to ensure that his intent is met,” spokeswoman Maj. Sunset Belinsky said. Karzai has previously made strong statements against certain military tactics — such as night raids — only to back off from them later.
But if Karzai holds to what sounds like an order to international troops to abandon strikes, it could bring the Afghan government in direct conflict with its international allies.
“Coalition forces constantly strive to reduce the chance of civilian casualties and damage to structures, but when the insurgents use civilians as a shield and put our forces in a position where their only option is to use airstrikes, then they will take that option,” Belinsky said.
It is unclear if Karzai has the power to order an end to such strikes. NATO and American forces are in Afghanistan under a United Nations mandate. Negotiations between the United States and the Afghan government on the presence of U.S. forces have become contentious, with Karzai declaring that he will put strict controls on how U.S. troops conduct themselves.