I always know when a headline in the Wall Street Journal leads to an AP wire story. For example, today the blurb on the front page read “U.S.-led troops lobbed a grenade that destroyed a house and killed 15 militants as well as a civilian woman and two children in southern Afghanistan.” AP always has to mention the civilians. But I read the story anyway – because a single grenade that can kill 18 people and destroy a house is of some interest to this aging infantryman;
A militant ambush in central Afghanistan, meanwhile, left four police officers dead and two others wounded, a police chief said.
The troops in southern Afghanistan were raiding compounds suspected of housing bomb makers in the Garmser district of Helmand province Sunday when militants attacked them with heavy fire, the statement said. Coalition forces responded with small-arms fire, killing several militants, it added.
“During one of the engagements, several militants barricaded themselves in a building on the compound and engaged coalition forces with a high volume of gunfire. Coalition forces used a single grenade which killed the attacking militants,” the statement said. “However, the building the militants were fighting from collapsed.”
Of course, they say US-led coalition troops which means there were no Americans involved, except maybe an advisor – but it just sounds better to add the “US” part to rile up anger at Americans instead of blaming the poor brown people. But the amazing part of the story is yet to come;
“When militants knowingly engage coalition forces with innocent people in the background, it only shows the extremists’ complete disregard for innocent lives,” Maj. Belcher added in a statement.
It wasn’t possible to verify the coalition claims. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said that only three militants were killed during the battle and 15 other victims were civilians. Mr. Ahmadi’s claims aren’t always reliable.
Whoa, Nelly! The AP has finally admitted that their Taliban sources “aren’t always reliable”? Since when? It would have been nice if they’d said that back six years ago instead of just mentioning that now. Next thing you know, they might admit that maybe all of those beheadings they’ve been reporting from Iraq were all just fantasies of al Qaeda plants in the Iraqi Police like Curt from Flopping Aces has been reporting all along.
Maybe we’re winning the war against the media as well as the radical Islamists. But, then I’ve always been a dreamer.
and let’s not forget the follow-up explosions from ammunition and ordinance in the “house”
that most likely contributed to the house coming down… You don’t think the fact that it
was a “bomb-making” house had anything to do with it do ya?
When will the media get a single clue?
Jonn wrote: That’s what I thought initially, too, Robin. Grenades aren’t usually powerful enough to bring a whole house down all by themselves. I was more amazed that AP would admit that the Taliban isn’t always a reliable source, though. It’d be as if Ahmadinijad admitted that maybe the 12th Imam living in a magic well for 600 years is a fantasy.
By “militants” they really mean TERRORISTS
Jonn wrote: Baby steps, Don Carl, baby steps. We can’t expect AP to change everything overnight.
Yeah, I wondered about the killing ratio of ONE grenade, as well. It’ll do some damage and kill one, maybe two people, but 15-18 people? Wow, that must be the MOAG.