LETTER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
Don Hynes
Afghan inquiry into American bombing of 'wedding party'
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4281078.ece
Letter to President Barack Obama:
“Afghan inquiry into American bombing of 'wedding party'
Afghan officials are investigating reports from a remote area of eastern Afghanistan that US warplanes bombed a wedding party this morning, killing more than 20 civilians including women and children.
The incident in Deh Bala, a mountainous district of Nangahar Province very close to the Pakistan border, is the second alleged episode of “collateral damage” involving American aircraft in three days.
President Hamid Karzai ordered a formal investigation into another episode in the province of Nuristan on Friday in which 15 civilians were reported killed after US planes bombed two vehicles.
Both claims have been challenged by American army spokesmen who said that groups of Taleban insurgents were clearly identified in each of the bombings.
"We have had no reports of any non-combatants killed or injured in this incident," said 1st Lieutenant Nathan Perry, a US spokesman, of the latest attack, "this may just be normal, typical militant propaganda".
A statement released by the US military said: "Intelligence revealed a large group of militants operating in Deh Bala district. Coalition forces identified the militants in a mountainous region and used precision air strikes to kill them."
However, the governor of Deh Bala, Haji Amishah Gul, told the Times: "So far there are 27 people, including women and children, who have been buried. Another 10 have been wounded. The attack happened at 6.30AM. Just two of the dead are men, the rest are women and children. The bride is among the dead."
Will you refer to these killed as "collateral damage?" If they were your relatives, children, would you contest their deaths as an unfortunate act of war? Do these killings contribute anything to the well being of the United States, to the stability and well being of the people of Afghanistan? I realize you have many difficult decisions to make in your office. Unfortunately, many that you are making are taking our country even further in the wrong direction.
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Don Hynes