Reader response

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NATO rift over Afghan airstrike is devastating
The NATO forces are the enemy of all those in Afghanistan who resist its occupation. NATO forces are the enemy of democracy and in two ways. They are the military arm of a regime that has purchased its power and whose emblem is a stuffed ballot box. They are in Afghanistan in defiance of the communities from which their soldiers come. On this basis disaster is inevitable. -- Chris, Ireland

Germany defends Afghan air strike amid reports of 125 casualties
There is no comfort for the civilians who were killed and maimed and yes the German commander ordered the airstrike too quickly without verifying details of the situation and should be held to account. By his action he set back the real reason for the Bundeswehr mandate in Afghanistan and will help the Taliban's recruitment of the young and disillusioned in that war ravaged country. The ISAF cannot afford any more blunders like this human tragedy. -- G. Gosau, Canada

If one has experienced the "firepower" of an exploding fuel tanker and then had to make a decision, whether to have it explode in your base or 6 km away -- the decision is very simple and the German commander was perfectly right in calling in airstrikes. In addition, this should also serve as a reminder for the Taliban not to challenge the young Germans. -- Hans Reuther-Fix, Argentina

Debate heats up over German-ordered Afghanistan airstrike
The Taliban are a combatant, civilian militia operating within the non-combatant civilian population, so there will only ever be civilian casualties. Thus the non-combatant element of the civilian population must accept that they are all combatants now and any casualties are their blood-price for success. -- Charles Smyth, Great Britain

As a young child, I was wounded severely in a war zone, to the point where, even to this day, the consequences of my afflictions are with me. Only a touch of foolishness and an ever increasing trust in our military people keeps me out of the camps of the doves. From personal experience I have also learned that no one really loves war, not our soldier and certainly not their loved ones. There is a relatively small element of quite useless individuals in the world for whom war is a wretched way of life, and hence they keep on interrupting our peaceful attempt at rearing our children, loving our families and making this world a better place for all. The names and faces of the insurgents changes, and the geographical locale all change, but not their desire to harm all the peacemakers. – Rev. Bernard Paetzold, Canada

In military operations, civilian casualties are unavoidable. -- Jose Nigrin, Guatemala

It is important for people to remember that in areas of armed conflict, complicated and rapidly changing situations arise that often result in disasterous, unintended deaths. I think I can speak for most Americans when I say that we don't believe that NATO forces intentionally kill civilians, and that it is understandably difficult to contain casualties to the vicious enemies whom they fight against. If a suicide bomber is killed while trying to reach their target, and a bystander is also killed, who is to blame; the security forces? No, it is the would-be bomber's fault. The media should be careful not to paint a picture based on one sided story telling, and to consider all of the possiblities surrounding an incident. German and other NATO troops in Afghanistan are doing their best to make Afghanistan a better place for the Afghani people. The Taliban are trying to reinstate a brutal religious dictatorship which would certainly cause 1000 times more innocent deaths than this airstrike did. -- Tim Malone, US

Suicide bomber injures German soldiers in Afghanistan
Judging by recent events NATO is as efficient at murdering innocents as the Taliban are said to be. Perhaps the question should be... Do you think Nato are dangerous or not? -- Hugh Goodwin, Great Britain

Merkel defends German involvement in Afghanistan
The correct action by the German contingent of NATO in calling in an air strike on two stolen by the Taliban terrorist tankers has been used by the growing Taliban disinformation program to falsely portray terrorists as innocent civilians. Children are used as suicide bombers we all know. The people killed in the strike were Taliban who had stolen the tankers, killing numerous military personnel in the process of that theft. Why is there no uproar over death of the drivers and guards who defended the two stolen tankers? The Taliban will think twice now about stealing tankers and about the likelihood that all future stolen tankers will be knocked out, as they should be, by airstrikes. Good on the German military in Afghanistan. Job well done. -- Colonel George L. Singleton, USAF, Ret, US