Uh oh - the BBC's reporting that 50 Afghan civilians have been wounded in a US air strike on a market place. So which brand of screw up is it this time ? Did one of the Good Ol' Boys decide hitting the same post code was close enough for government work, or did the intelligence geeks screw up and confuse a pile of bananas with an RPG stockpile ?
Well, since you mention it, neither. The strike was bang on the money. Apparently, the civilians just happened to have stopped off to get some fags and a lottery ticket in the exact same place a shed-load of Taliban were meeting. Not only that, but the demographic spread seems a little off.
In other words, the BBC's report was unmitigated rubbish. As ever, there's a wider point. The BBC maintains an attitude of constant scepticism towards any statement from allied forces, but airs even the loopiest Taliban propaganda without a qualm. This is what they call impartiality.
Well, since you mention it, neither. The strike was bang on the money. Apparently, the civilians just happened to have stopped off to get some fags and a lottery ticket in the exact same place a shed-load of Taliban were meeting. Not only that, but the demographic spread seems a little off.
In other words, the BBC's report was unmitigated rubbish. As ever, there's a wider point. The BBC maintains an attitude of constant scepticism towards any statement from allied forces, but airs even the loopiest Taliban propaganda without a qualm. This is what they call impartiality.
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