Karzai says Afghan forces can't request airstrikes

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai addesses military officers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday he plans to issue a decree banning Afghan security forces from asking international troops to carry out airstrikes under ``any circumstances.” The announcement came amid anger over a joint Afghan-NATO operation this week that Afghan officials said killed 10 civilians, including women and children, in northeast Kunar province.

Karzai says Afghan forces can't request airstrikes
By RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press
Updated 8:11 am, Saturday, February 16, 2013

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday that he will issue a decree banning Afghan security forces from asking international troops to carry out airstrikes under "any circumstances."

The announcement came amid anger over a joint Afghan-NATO operation this week that Afghan officials said killed 10 civilians, including women and children, in northeast Kunar province.

"I will issue a decree tomorrow that no Afghan security forces, in any circumstances, in any circumstances can ask for the foreigners' planes for carrying out operations on our homes and villages," Karzai said in a speech at the Afghan National Military Academy in Kabul.

Civilian deaths at the hands of foreign forces, in particular airstrikes, have been among the most divisive issues of the 11-year-old war, although the U.S.-led coalition has implemented measures to mitigate them. But the Afghan military also relies heavily on air support to gain advantage in the fight against Taliban militants and other insurgents.