KABUL – The commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan has issued new combat orders designed to reduce civilian casualties, especially from air strikes, underscoring new counter-insurgency tactics.
Civilian casualties have led to a rift between the Afghan government and its western backers, with Afghan president Hamid Karzai saying foreign air strikes have achieved nothing but the deaths of civilians.
Gen Stanley McChrystal, who took charge of all foreign troops in Afghanistan last month, said international forces needed to make a “cultural shift” away from conventional warfare and focus on winning the support of Afghans.
An unclassified version of the new “tactical directive” was released yesterday, less than a month after a US military report found strikes by US B1 bombers in May that killed dozens of civilians violated orders already in place.
The general said: “We must avoid the trap of winning tactical victories, but suffering strategic defeats, by causing civilian casualties or excessive damage and thus alienating the people.” – (Reuters)
