Afghanistan
US/AFGHANISTAN: Fears of Blowback Nixed Airstrikes in 2004
Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2008-10-20 19:56.By Gareth Porter, IPS
WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (IPS) - The present U.S. policy in Afghanistan of using airstrikes to target local Taliban leaders was rejected by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan in early 2004 as certain to turn the broader population against the U.S. presence.
Lt. Gen. David Barno, the three-star general who commanded the Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan, the overall U.S. and coalition command for Afghanistan from October 2003 to mid-2005, recalled in an interview that he had ordered that such airstrikes be halted in Afghanistan in early 2004. He said he the decision did not prohibit airstrikes for close support of U.S. troops in contact with the Taliban.
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