NATO Blinks, Calls For Forces To Retreat From Taliban If Civilians At Risk

This is so bad, I can't put it completely into words. NATO, after some mixed reports of civilian casualties due to three U.S. airstrikes that hit civilians in Afghanistan, has decided to change rules of engagement in the war with the Taliban such that if civilians are at risk, NATO forces will withdraw from firefights and NOT call in airstrikes.

Here's some of the details of the bad news from Radio Free Europe:

NATO has ordered its troops in Afghanistan to pull back from firefights with the Taliban rather than call in air strikes that might kill civilians, Afghan and NATO officials said.

NATO defense ministers endorsed the restriction at a summit in Budapest last week after three U.S. air strikes killed more than 100 Afghan civilians in the three months."All agreed that civilian casualties earn a bad name for both the Afghan government and the presence of international troops in Afghanistan," Defense Minister Abdul Raheem Wardak told a news conference in Kabul after returning from the NATO summit.

If there is a risk to civilians, troops have now been ordered to withdraw if they can, rather than order bombings that would earn a short-term victory but boost Taliban opponents in the longer term.That should lead to a drop in the number of air strikes, which are up sharply from last year, said a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

I have two things to say about this: 1. First of all, the Afghan government and President Karzai need to make a decision - either they keep their country free and they retain control and support a full effort by NATO or they decide to go this route and ensure that the government will fall to the Taliban and 2. This new policy ENSURES failure for NATO forces due to the tactics of the Taliban.

The most ridiculous part of this stance is the fact that the Taliban are notorious for using Afghan villages as a part of their battle tactics. It's simple - the Taliban approach is to ambush NATO patrols, then they flee into Afghan villages, force their way into the homes of the people and use those Afghan civilians as human shields. So, if I am a U.S. commander or a Dutch commander or Canadian commander....under these new rules of engagement, why would I even go out on patrol??!! This is nothing but bloody suicide.

Mark my words, the number of ambushes by the Taliban will soar upon this news. And let's not forget this. President Karzai, who is behind this whole change in stance, has watched thousands of his people murdered in Taliban suicide bombings, attacks and IED attacks and has to own up to that. Karzai can't keep his people safe by allowing more Taliban to live. And if these new rules of engagement go the way I suspect they will, we will see growing apathy from NATO forces and the eventual withdrawl of NATO countries from the entire War in Afghanistan.

NATO Troops To Retreat If Afghan Civilians At Risk

KABUL (Reuters) -- NATO has ordered its troops in Afghanistan to pull back from firefights with the Taliban rather than call in air strikes that might kill civilians, Afghan and NATO officials said.Violence in Afghanistan this year is worse than at any time since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the militant Islamist Taliban in 2001 and fears are growing the West is losing both the military campaign and the support of ordinary Afghans.The insurgents have intensified their campaign and extended it to previously peaceful areas, capitalizing on resentment at the presence of foreign forces who many feel use air power indiscriminately, endangering civilians.NATO defense ministers endorsed the restriction at a summit in Budapest last week after three U.S. air strikes killed more than 100 Afghan civilians in the three months."All agreed that civilian casualties earn a bad name for both the Afghan government and the presence of international troops in Afghanistan," Defense Minister Abdul Raheem Wardak told a news conference in Kabul after returning from the NATO summit.Drop In Air StrikesIf there is a risk to civilians, troops have now been ordered to withdraw if they can, rather than order bombings that would earn a short-term victory but boost Taliban opponents in the longer term.That should lead to a drop in the number of air strikes, which are up sharply from last year, said a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).ISAF chief U.S. General David McKiernan has also told his officers that as far as possible all operations should be conducted alongside Afghan forces, an ISAF spokesman said.Raids by foreign forces on homes and mosques are a major source of resentment against the more than 60,000 ISAF and U.S.-led coalition troops in Afghanistan."There will be no uninvited entry into an Afghan house or a mosque without having the lead from the Afghan Army unless there is a clear danger that comes from that house," said ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Richard Blanchette.