Army seeks answers for Afghan civilian deaths

Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal apologized to the Afghan people in a televised address after an attack by U.S. Special Forces killed at least 15 Afghan civilians. The attack is under investigation.


Army seeks answers for Afghan civilian deaths
By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 9, 2010 17:51:54 EST

A helicopter attack that killed at least 15 civilians in Afghanistan’s Oruzgan province was called in by a Special Forces A-team that did not have “eyes on” their target and resulted in a 48-hour standdown for U.S. special operations forces, said an Army officer familiar with the incident.

In the wake of the incident, the commander of coalition and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and then to the Afghan people in a Feb. 23 television address. “I have instituted a thorough investigation to prevent this from happening again,” McChrystal said.

The Army officer familiar with the incident described a confusing situation involving multiple special operations task forces and aerial platforms that descended into tragedy in part due to “a miscommunication, unfortunately a fatal one.”

The events that led to the attack began early in the morning of Feb. 21 while, together with Afghan security forces, the A-team was clearing a bazaar in the town of Khod. “They found Taliban IED-making materials and stuff like that,” the Army officer said.

The A-team involved in the incident was Operational Detachment Alpha 3124, a team that specializes in high-altitude, low-opening parachute operations, and which is based at Firebase Tinsley in Oruzgan. (Firebase Tinsley was known as Firebase Cobra until recently, when it was renamed in honor of Capt. John Tinsley of 7th Special Forces Group, who was killed near there Aug. 12.)


Rest of hearts and minds article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/03/army_mcchrystal_030910w/



unhappycamper comment: Will anyone lose their job? I doubt it. But Stanley sure looks contrite, eh?

and then there wont be any need to apologize for murdering people there