Say Anything Blog

Earlier today I posted on claims that Americans had fired on Afghani civilians while fleeing a terrorist ambush.  Now more claims are being made, this time by “freelance” AP photographers who claim that US soldiers deleted photos of the dead civilians from their cameras.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan journalists covering the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack and shooting in eastern Afghanistan Sunday said U.S. troops deleted their photos and video and warned them not to publish or air any images of U.S. troops or a car where three Afghans were shot to death.

Afghan witnesses and gunshot victims said U.S. forces fired on civilians in cars and on foot along at least a six-mile stretch of road in Nangarhar province following a suicide attack against the military convoy. The U.S. military said militants also fired on American forces during the attack.

The U.S. military and Afghan officials said eight Afghans died and 34 were wounded in the violence. One U.S. soldier was also injured.

A freelance photographer working for The Associated Press and a cameraman working for AP Television News said a U.S. soldier deleted their photos and video showing a four-wheel drive vehicle in which three people were shot to death about 100 yards from the suicide bombing. The AP plans to lodge a protest with the American military.

Personally, I’m skeptical.  I’m looking at the AP photo wire, and I’m seeing enough photos of the civilians supposedly shot to death by Americans to satisfy the even the most morbid of anti-American elements in the media and on the left.  Most of them by Rahmat Gul, the very person who claims to have had his photos deleted above.  The troops know these photographers are going to get their shots in, are we really supposed to believe that they’re so stupid that they’d actually invite the wrath of the AP down on their heads for deleting a few photos that, in the grand scheme of things, aren’t any better or worse than other photos coming out of Iraq?

And even if American soldiers did delete these photos it is, at worst, a few soldiers doing something they’re not supposed to do.  Certainly this isn’t the official policy of the US military.

I’d say that we should wait until this whole thing plays out before passing any judgment, but you know that’s not going to happen.  The allegation has been made against our troops, and the usual anti-war, anti-military, anti-US elements will eat it all up with a spoon and demand more with out the least bit of skepticism.  I mean, we don’t even know for sure how these civilians died.  They got caught near the scene of a terrorist ambush on our troops and they got killed in the resulting firefight.  Even if our troops shot them, shouldn’t we be blaming these deaths on the folks who, you know, launched the ambush and attacked out troops?  Those who started a firefight in an apparently crowded civilian area?

We should, but most in the media and on the left won’t.