Afghan's - "Die America!" - Media Misleading Again...

Stardate 4307.5

More than 1,000 try to break down gate; 50 Taliban reported slain in battle

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - More than 1,000 stone-throwing Afghans tried to break down an outer gate at the main U.S. base here Tuesday while demanding the release of eight detained villagers, and Afghan troops fired warning shots and used clubs to beat the mob back. U.S. troops also fired into the air.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties in the melee outside the base’s main gate as protesters chanted “Die America!” Black smoke billowed from burning tires. An Associated Press reporter was hit by a stone and an AP photographer was punched by a protester.

In southern Afghanistan, meanwhile, a provincial governor said about 50 suspected insurgents and two Afghan soldiers died during an overnight battle. It was one of the deadliest clashes in recent fighting between the government and militants heading into parliamentary elections.

Apparently, the mob of people were chasing US vehicles that had taken Afghan citizens from their homes without calling the Afghan authorities first. Apparently, the men had equipment used in making home-made explosive devices no doubt to be used in "Insurgent" attacks.

“We have supported the Americans for years. We should be treated with dignity,” said Shah Aghar, 35. “They are arresting our people without the permission of the government. They are breaking into our houses and offending the people. We are very angry.”

No doubt. Of course, the US military claims to have attempted to contact the Afghan authorities... but to no avail.

The point of this post is not to report riots in Afghanistan however. It does make a very interesting story though, and I am sure we could pick apart any number of things the US military did, or the Afghan people for that matter. However, this story ties in much more closely with the post I made a while ago about the Media.

Look at the title under the main heading:

"More than 1,000 try to break down gate; 50 Taliban reported slain in battle"

Very interesting.

The title is insinuating (I know I am not a moron because I am wearing my tin foil hat) that the Afghans that stormed the military base were Taliban. Or that the Mob was led by the Taliban. But if you actually *read* the article, you will see that the 50 Taliban soldiers slain is a TOTALLY UNRELATED INCIDENT and the paragraph mentioning it doesn't even belong in this article! Of course, much further down, is the story about the 50 Taliban and the gunfight.

So, why is this?

The writer may simply be trying to combine two stories together in one entry to save space? Like "News from Afghanistan Today"... the semi-colon almost seems to say that. But then, it still reads like the 50 Taliban were part of the mob.

Maybe they were trying to draw attention away from the US raid and the mob scene at the compound by mixing in the other story, specifically, in the title? Many folks would only read the headline anyhow... "Ah Margaret. Got 50 of those Taliban bastiches..." Flips to sports right??

Maybe it was just an oversight on the part of the editors or writers.

No matter what though... put on *your* tin foil hat when watching the news :)