Kinder, Gentler Warfare
Posted by lex, on September 17, 2009
General McChrystal recently worried that our tactical decisions in Afghanistan might have strategic consequences. It turns out that the reverse may also be true:
NATO-led forces are investigating the death of four Marines in eastern Afghanistan after their commanders reportedly rejected requests for artillery fire in a battle with insurgents, the Pentagon said on Wednesday…
A McClatchy newspapers’ journalist who witnessed the battle reported that a team of Marine trainers made repeated appeals for air and artillery support after being pinned down by insurgents in the village of Ganjgal in eastern Kunar province.
The U.S. troops had to wait more than an hour for attack helicopters to come to their aid and their appeal for artillery fire was rejected, with commanders citing new rules designed to avoid civilian casualties, the report said.
Four young Marines paid the butcher’s bill. We have to do better than this.