'Endless war' claims more civilians
U.S. bombs Afghan wedding party
By John Catalinotto
An allegedly errant U.S. bomb killed 40 civilians and
wounded another 70 at a wedding party in central Afghanistan
July 1, according to local Afghan authorities. The casualties
included children.
Other sources from inside Afghanistan, speaking on the radio
show "Democracy Now!," said that bombs and rockets were fired
at Afghan civilians. Some estimate the number of deaths at up
to 250.
The wanton killing of civilians in Uruzgan province reminded
the world that the slaughter started by U.S. forces last
October in Afghanistan continues to this day.
It is also a reminder of just why Washington is currently
refusing to participate in so-called peacekeeping assignments
in Bosnia unless U.S. troops are immune from international war
crimes charges. The Pentagon officers and the Bush
administration know all too well that their forces do indeed
commit war crimes.
The Pentagon insisted its forces were attacking a
legitimate, hostile target in the area. By the following day
the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S.
military operations in Afghanistan, admitted that one of its
operations "may have resulted in civilian casualties."
The brief statement said: "Close air support from U.S. Air
Force B-52 and AC-130 aircraft struck several ground targets,
including anti-aircraft artillery sites that were engaging the
aircraft."
Afghan authorities--themselves allied with the U.S.
occupying forces at present--gave a more detailed version of
the U.S. attack, according to the Associated Press and
Reuters.
Raaz Mohammad, a spokesperson for the provincial governor,
said: "We have buried victims of the bombing in the village of
Deh Rawud. They include women and children."
Bismullah, communications chief of Uruzgan province, said
celebrants were firing weapons in the air, a wedding custom in
rural Afghanistan, when U.S. planes attacked.
Some reports say that U.S. air gunships and a Special Forces
unit were hunting Al Qaeda fighters in the region and mistook
the celebratory fire for an ambush, then called in air support
from B-52s flying at 30,000 feet. Other Pentagon reports say it
may have been an errant 2,000-pound bomb from the B-52, which
was aiming at another target.
One of those wounded at the wedding was Haji Mohammed Anwar,
who Afghans said was one of the first prominent local figures
to rise up against the former Taliban regime. Anwar is
reportedly a friend of President Hamid Karzai, who was placed
in power by the U.S. occupying troops.
According to the Reuters article, there was widespread anger
in the streets of Kabul, the Afghan capital, after the U.S.
bombing. "It's not the first time this happened," said Abdul
Wahood. "Enough is enough. We want Karzai to make the Americans
stop."
Wahood may have been referring to an earlier bombing in
Uruzgan province that killed 30 civilians. Or to the thousands
of Afghan civilians who have been killed by U.S. bombs since
the Bush administration launched its criminal "war on terror"
that has terrorized Afghanistan and much of the world.
Reprinted from the July 11, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
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