Officials: French Troops Killed Over US Marines Urine Video

Karzai Downplayed 'Isolated' Killing, But Is Anti-NATO Sentiment Worsening?

The killing of four French soldiers and wounding of 12 others last week by an Afghan soldier has caused a considerable backlash from the NATO member nation, with France withdrawing its troops from all training operations. The Taliban claimed credit, but what really caused the shooting?

Security officials quoted in the Agence France Press (AFP) today have a simpler explanation, saying that the soldier was motivated by anger over the video of US Marines desecrating Afghan corpses.

The video, which was released earlier this month, has fueled considerable anti-US sentiment, and apparently some of that sentiment is extending to other nations’ soldiers aiding in the US-led occupation.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai downplayed this notion, insisting the killings were an “isolated incident” and not indicative of anything. But with plenty of reasons to dislike the occupation forces coming around all the time, such blowback attacks seem unsurprising and NATO troops remain in danger.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.