Afghans Angered by US Massacre of Civilians

Obama: Massacre 'Does Not Represent' Military

With weeks of major protests in the wake of a February incident in which US soldiers conducted a massive, organized book burning including large numbers of Qurans, it would have been difficult to imagine how US-Afghan relations could possibly get any worse.

Today, we have the answer, as a US soldier (or by some accounts multiple US soldiers) massacred a large number of Afghan civilians in the Kandahar Province overnight, fueling yet more outrage at the behavior of the long-standing occupation force.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was quick to condemn the massacre, saying that having US soldiers intentionally slaughtering civilians is “unforgivable.” Villagers say that the victims, some as young as two, were “not Taliban.”

President Obama expressed “condolences” over the deaths, but insisted that the wholesale slaughter of innocent civilians in their homes “does not represent the exceptional character of our military.” NATO has said that investigations are ongoing.

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.