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US Commander Makes Televised Apology for Afghan Deaths in NATO Strike

   VOA News 23 February 2010
   General  Stanley  McChrystal,  Commander of the International Security
   Assistance  Forces (ISAF) and Commander of US Forces in Afghanistan in
   Kabul (file photo)

Photo: AP

   General  Stanley  McChrystal,  Commander of the International Security
   Assistance  Forces (ISAF) and Commander of US Forces in Afghanistan in
   Kabul (file photo)

   The  commander  of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has appeared on
   Afghan  national  television  to apologize for last week's deadly NATO
   airstrike that officials say killed 21 people.
   In  a  video address that was translated into Dari and Pashto, General
   Stanley  McChrystal  said  NATO  and  Afghan forces targeted what they
   thought  were  insurgents in Uruzgan province last week.  He said NATO
   now  believes  the  attack  killed  and  wounded  a  number  of Afghan
   citizens.
   He  called the incident a "tragic loss of innocent lives," and said he
   has  authorized  a thorough investigation to prevent it from happening
   again.   General  McChrystal has made protecting civilians and winning
   their trust a top priority for NATO forces in Afghanistan.

   Elsewhere,  Afghan  police  say  an  explosion killed eight people and
   wounded  16  others  in Helmand province, where Afghan and NATO forces
   are conducting a major offensive against Taliban militants.
   Police say the bomb went off in front of a government building Tuesday
   in Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern province.
   In  the  nearby  town of Marjah, U.S. military officials are reporting
   slow,   but  steady,  progress  in  the  operation  targeting  Taliban
   fighters.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP. 

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