A coalition security force shot and killed a relative of Afghan President Hamid Karzai at his home outside of Kandahar during a military operation last night.
According to the Pentagon, the American-led troops mistook Karzai’s cousin, Yar Muhammad Khan, for an enemy fighter during a raid. ”There were operations taking place near his house. Yar Muhammad Khan was killed by mistake. He was not a target," said Ahmad Wali Karzai, the president’s brother and head of Kandahar’s provincial council, in his statement to the BBC. While acting as a government spokesperson in this friendly-fire incident, many are distrustful of the President’s brother. Ahmad Wali Karzai has been accused of acting as a mercenary in his own country as a paid asset of the CIA. There are also several accusations that he’s a successful narcotics trafficker.
According to the Pentagon, U.S. President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, all apologized for the shooting.
Meanwhile officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would only state that they will thoroughly investigate the incident and that the NATO forces reportedly shot and killed the middle-aged man when he left the house at night armed with a weapon.
The shooting of Karzai’s cousin occurred in the wake of NATO facing the Afghan President’s sharp criticism over the killing of nine innocent boys in his country’s Kunar district.
Close to 2,700 civilians were killed last year in Afghanistan, but a United Nations report states that the Taliban and Haqqani terrorist group are responsible for about 75% of deaths. The U.N. claimed that NATO is responsible for 16% of the reported civilian deaths.
Jim Kouri, CPP, formerly Fifth Vice-President, is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a columnist for Examiner.com and New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he’s a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
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