Afghan Deaths by NATO Down, but Up Overall

Yep, the Talibanistanians are killing more of their own countrymen than NATO is, and yet somehow NATO's ROE still aren't restrictive enough for some people.

The numbers are in and they are both ugly and unacceptable. At least, 1,074 Afghan civilians were killed in armed violence and security incidents in the first six months of 2010, according to the respected Afghanistan Rights Monitor.

Crucially, however, the number of people killed in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United States air strikes in the same period fell by half. An earlier tightening of allied rules of engagement - overseen by former NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal - helped to reduce that figure, according to the Afghan authors of the report.

In the six months between the start of January and the end of June, insurgents were responsible for killing some 661 civilians and of those 282 were killed in improvised roadside bombs. The numbers show that, despite fighting from behind a human shield and melting away, the Taliban and related insurgents are killing far more innocents than NATO and Afghan forces. That cannot be good for their own "hearts and minds" campaign.

By comparison, NATO and other international forces were responsible for 210 Afghan civilian deaths. Afghan security forces also appear to be improving their aim, killing 108 civilians this year, down from 386 in the previous six months. This suggests that NATO can begin to provide more airlift and firepower assets to the Afghans as they move closer to the tip of spear in the war against the Taliban.

By: Brant