NATO airstrike mistakenly targets Afghan civilians

On Sunday, United States Special Forces helicopters launched an airstrike against what they believed to be a group of insurgents who had "escaped the NATO offensive in the Marja area." Tragically, the forces mistakenly killed "as many as 27 civilians in the worst such case since at least September." The tragedy occurred in an area under the control of the Dutch military. While Dutch forces played no role in the airstrike, some are concerned about the effect it will have on the Dutch war effort. The Afghan war is extremely unpopular in the Netherlands, and this airstrike will only serve to increase that sentiment.

Of the 27 who are thought to be dead, 4 were women and one was a child.

I cannot believe that NATO forces allowed this to happen. What makes it even more tragic is the fact that it is not even considered an extraordinarily rare occurrence, it is just another part of the war effort. If something like this ever happened in the United States, it would be huge news. There would be trials and serious investigations into how such a horrible mistake was made. Those innocent people did not deserve to die.