Civilians killed in Afghanistan

Carlotta Gall of the NY Times covers several incidences over the weekend where people believed to be civilians were killed. Some Afghans were killed in friendly fire incidences too. I am deeply suspicious of these claims as a general rule. If you listen to the Taliban, you would think that the US was making war against wedding parties. While there were no such claims this time the circumstances of some seem suspicious.

...

The United States military said it was beginning an investigation into the first episode, in Farah Province. The Afghan and United States forces were attacked by an unknown group during operations in Ana Darreh district, a statement issued from Bagram Air Base said. The allied forces returned fire and then called in airstrikes on the group attacking them.

The district’s police chief was among those badly wounded, the deputy provincial governor said, according to Agence France-Presse.

...

Now people dumb enough to attack US forces should not be surprised to get return fire. Attacking US forces is not in the same category as attacking people you think are the enemy and they turn out not to be. Unlike the enemy, the US forces comply with the Geneva Conventions requirement that they wear a distinctive uniform and openly carry their weapons. Unlike the enemy, the the US forces do not try to camouflage themselves as civilians.

This gets to the heart of the problem in Afghanistan of "civilian" killed by US forces. Gall is a good reporter but she makes the mistakes of most reporters in Afghanistan. She doesn't explain how the enemy's violation of the Geneva Conventions endangers civilians when they camouflage themselves as civilians. Since the enemy also does not carry identification which describes them as members of the Taliban even examining the bodies should not be considered evidence they are not Taliban.

The spokesperson for the US and NATO forces should be telling reporters theses facts every time there is an allegation of civilian deaths.