P-32 UN Commander apologizes for civilian deaths ... then blames Talaban for UN Air Strike....

Nato apology over Afghan deaths A top Nato commander has apologised for the deaths of Afghan civilians in an air raid on Tuesday..... General James Jones said Taleban insurgents were to blame for using the villagers as cover.... "I personally apologise for the incident, for any loss of life."

'Regretted and investigated'

He said that Taleban militants were using civilians as human shields and that in the heat of battle, when it was hard to differentiate between the two, decisions had to be made on the spot.

In New York, a human rights group said Nato troops needed to do more to protect Afghan civilians..... "Nato's tactics are increasingly endangering the civilians they are supposed to be protecting and turning the local population against them," Sam Zarifi of Human Rights Watch said.

************************** says a me Comment **********************

"A top NATO Commander"..... General James Jones appoligized for the air raid that killed up to 25 civilians (no mention of how many insurgents were killed if any) and then he defended his action by saying that the Taleban insurgents were to blame for using the villagers as cover.... So there was no real appology and admission of wrong doing... just a phony lip service and denial of his actions...

Excuse me.. but in the HEAT OF BATTLE... I take that as infantry combat as there were no enemy war planes in the area.... The UN called in an AIR STRIKE as they couldn't gain ground on the insurgents... Of course a pilot flying at 500 mph can't tell a civilian from a militant... and a bomb or bullets are blind... It wasn't the Talibans bombs or bullets that killed the civilians.. but the NATO Air STRIKE....

saysame JR