U.S. Says Troops Fired at Crowd In Afghan Capital - Washington Post

U.S. Says Troops Fired at Crowd In Afghan Capital
Shooting Was in Self-Defense, Spokesman for Military Says

By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, June 1, 2006; A12

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 31 -- U.S. military officials acknowledged Wednesday that American troops had fired at an angry mob that surrounded the scene of a traffic accident in the Afghan capital Monday morning. Officials previously had said the troops fired only into the air.<snip>

The incident has exposed deep public resentment against the presence of foreign troops here and shaken investor confidence in the fledgling postwar economy at a time when Afghanistan faces a mounting threat from armed Taliban fighters and other insurgents in the countryside.

"Initial indications from our investigation are that coalition soldiers did in fact use their weapons in self-defense," Col. Thomas Collins, a U.S. military spokesman, said at a news conference here. He said it appeared that gunfire had come from the crowd and that the troops had "used their weapons to defend themselves."

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There was a gunshot, people had to return fire... on a crowd of angry civilians.

They would've kept up the lie if they could have.

I think I would also fire shots if an occupying force ran down our citizens.

...vehicle. THe equipment is falling apart over there and the soldiers are paying the price for it. Both operations (Iraq/Afghanistan) are so expensive its nauseating.

What a terrible week this has been for our country. First this accident and the riots in Afghanistan, then the Haditha massacres. FYI, it was the third tour of duty for those marines and they were wholly fried. Then another atrocity was reported today of a killing of an unarmed civilian by our soldiers in Iraq. I understand why they are being driven to commit these acts, and I am terrified at the speed at which the situation is deteriorating in both Iraq and Afghanistan. At this rate, Bin Laden will be back running Afghanistan in no time if he isn't already.

We need John Murtha to lead us bigtime. I wish he would run for president.

Why isn't this administration being impeached? Our country has never looked this bad in the world in my lifetime. I am glad I am not traveling overseas these days. Americans just look terrible with this absolute war criminal in the White House. He should be shipped to the Hague, with all of his cohorts immediately and jailed for the remainder of his miserable lifetime.