Collateral Damage XIV

There are eye-witness reports by refugees who escaped the American bombing raids on Afghani villages, reported in the Pakistani daily newspaper, Dawn and on the British TV channel, Sky News. These reports point towards a carpet bombing attack against villages south of Kandahar, in which a large number of civilians (yet to be registered) have fallen victim.

Sky news presented a report on Sunday evening of a hospital full of civilians who claim that their village was blitzed by US precision weapons.

There are unconfirmed reports that the US armed forces are bombing any possible location where Mullah Mohammad Omar and Osama Bin Laden are reported to be hiding, without taking into account that “collateral damage” might result from these attacks. This policy, if proven to be the case, would seriously damage the reputation of the US Armed Forces, which declares, amid a growing number of collateral damage and friendly fire incidents, that it tries to limit accidents to the minimum.

The point is that nobody knows the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar and the USAF, in desperation, is bombing any location which it suspects of harbouring these two “most wanted men”. The fact that this series of articles reaches the number 14 is a shame and a disgrace for the US armed forces, a fact which takes away any sympathy which many around the world felt for the aggressed, now the customary arrogant, violent aggressors fighting an enemy yet to be clearly identified.

Dropping 15,000 pound bombs on civilian areas is not soldier-like, ethical or defensible from any point of view. The USA is building a case against itself for violation of the Geneva Convention and perpetration of war crimes.

John ASHTEAD PRAVDA.Ru LONDON UNITED KINGDOM