The Daily Blog

Afghan President Rejects US Apology Over Killings.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s president on Sunday rejected a U.S. apology for the mistaken killing of nine Afghan boys in a NATO air attack and said civilian casualties are no longer acceptable.

According to a statement from his office, Hamid Karzai told Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, that expressing regret was not sufficient in last week’s killing of the boys, ages 12 and under, by coalition helicopters.

NATO has also apologized for the mistaken killings. Civilian casualties from coalition operations are a major source of strain in the already difficult relationship between Karzai’s government and the United States, and they generate widespread outrage among the population.

“President Karzai said that only regret is not sufficient and also mentioned that civilian casualties during military operations by coalition forces is the main reason for tension in relations between Afghanistan and United States,” the statement said. “It is not acceptable for the Afghan people anymore. Regrets and condemnations of the incident cannot heal the wounds of the people.”

The killing of the nine boys took place on March 1 in the Pech valley area of Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan.

Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, who directs day-to-day operations of coalition forces across Afghanistan, later issued a video statement of apology.

In the video, Rodriguez said troops at a base in the valley were responding to a rocket attack and dispatched attack helicopters to the location they were told the rockets came from. He said the helicopters thought they were engaging insurgents, but it later turned out they were boys from a nearby village who were cutting firewood.

Karzai appealed to Petraeus to do more to prevent such incidents. He made the remarks to Petraeus during a Sunday meeting of the National Security Council, a body that includes Cabinet members and senior political and military officials.

According to the statement, Petraeus said during the meeting that the killing was a mistake by coalition forces and extended his condolences and regret to Karzai and the Afghan people, promising that such an incident will not be repeated.

“President Karzai said that repetition of such incidents would affect relations and the environment of trust between us. The continuation of such incidents is not tolerable and not acceptable for the Afghan people and government,” the statement said.

NATO operations against insurgents in eastern Afghanistan have caused friction with the Karzai administration in recent weeks after government charges that the military has caused a number of civilian deaths and casualties.

Last week, Karzai warned President Barack Obama in a video conference call that U.S.-led forces must do a better job addressing civilian casualties.

Earlier this month, the Karzai administration claimed that 65 civilians, including 40 children, were killed in a NATO assault on insurgents in Kunar. NATO has said that video of Kunar operations on Feb. 17 - the main event of more than three days of fighting - showed troops targeting and killing dozens of insurgents, not civilians.

Civilian deaths have jumped this year primarily because of increased attacks from insurgents, according to U.N. data. Insurgents recently have started carrying out indiscriminate attacks against soft targets such as banks, supermarkets and sporting events.

But allegations of civilian deaths from NATO forces - who pledge to protect the population - often cause much more anger.

Hundreds of people from a left-wing political party marched through Kabul to protest U.S. military operations and demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops.They chanted “death to America, death to the American government” and carried pictures of Afghans killed or wounded in recent airstrikes. They burned an effigy of Obama.

Violence has been on the rise in eastern Afghanistan and earlier in the day a roadside bomb killed 12 civilians, including five children, in Paktika province.

A spokesman for the governor of the province, Mokhlis Afghan, said another five people were wounded when the bomb planted by insurgents exploded next to a truck carrying civilians.

Paktika borders Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, used as safe havens by insurgents fighting U.S.-led coalition troops in Afghanistan. Insurgents regularly cross the rugged frontier to attack coalition forces and the region has seen an increase in fighting, as well as a rise in casualties.

Marijuana Measure Loses in California; Tax Issues Vary by State.

California voters rejected Proposition 19, the measure that would have made the state the first in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana. Well-funded activists fought hard to pass Proposition 19 and end the state’s prohibition on pot, but California’s political and law enforcement establishment carried the day.

With 43 percent of precincts reporting, Prop 19 was trailing 55 percent to 45 percent late Tuesday night, leading analysts to project defeat. Proposition 19 would have allowed possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults over 21, and would have allowed local officials to tax it.Polls went back and forth in months leading up to the election, but in the final days, the “no” forces gathered steam.

Proponents of legalized marijuana said the ballot measure was a milestone and predicted it would be back on the ballot in 2012 in California and other states.

Otherwise, there were few discernible trends among the 142 initiatives and legislative measures on midterm ballots.
In Colorado, an initiative to block the new federal health care law was projected to lose. But voters in Oklahoma were on the verge of overwhelmingly approved a similar measure. Similarly, Oklahoma voters turned away from a measure to increase spending on public education, but voters in Massachusetts refused to cut their sales tax in half.

Marijuana:

California was the only state with a measure on recreational pot, but South Dakota and Arizona ballots included medical marijuana initiatives, South Dakota’s Measure 13 went down in flames, 63 percent to 37 percent. Arizona’s Proposition 203 was on the fence; the measure was 50 percent for, 50 percent against, with 92 percent of the precincts reporting late Tuesday night. There are currently 14 states, and the District of Columbia, with forms of medical marijuana laws.

Health care:

In several states, voters had a chance to weigh in on the debate over the future of the new health care laws. In Colorado, Amendment 63, which would create a constitutional right to a “health care choice,” trailed by a 55-45 margin. Arizona voters seem more receptive to Proposition 106, which would bar any law requiring a person to participate in a health care system. In early voting, Proposition 106 led 60-40 percent. And Oklahoma voters were soundly supporting the state’s proposed “Health Care Freedom” Amendment, State Question 756, by a margin of 65-35 percent with roughly one-third of the votes counted.

Taxes:

With the economy and unemployment a major talking point this election, several ballot measures around the country focused on taxes. In the state of Washington, Proposition 1098 sought to tax wealthy state residents in order to provide tax relief to small businesses and the middle class. But Washington voters turned it down 65 percent to 35 percent, with 59 percent of precincts counted, according to the Associated Press.

In Oklahoma, with a third of the precincts reporting, voters were rejecting by a margin of 80-20 percent a taxing measure called Helping Oklahoma Education Act. State Question 744, which would require the legislature to fund the state’s public school system on a par with per-student costs in neighboring states, was trailing. But voters in Massachusetts refused to roll back the Commonwealth’s sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent. With 70 percent of precincts reporting, the tax rollback measure was down 57-43 percent.

Other notable measures:

In California, via Proposition 23, voters in early returns were rejecting an attempt to put off greenhouse gas regulation in the Golden State until its economy turns around.

In Colorado, Amendment 62, a measure that would give fetuses constitutional rights from the moment of inception, went down to defeat, 70 percent to 30 percent.

In Missouri, voters appeared headed toward defeating dog-breeding restrictions. With roughly one-third of the precincts reporting, the measure to restrict puppy mills was trailing 58-42 percent.