SOMETHING YOU WON'T HEAR FROM SEAN HANNITY

(h/t Ryan Powers at Think Progress)

Hannity tries to make people think that Obama attacked our troops when he mentioned that we are causing too many civilian casualties in Afghanistan. I've pointed out several times before that Obama is correct to be concerned and on 1/17/2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that he was also concerned in his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee¹:

SEN. REED: There's another aspect. There are so many with respect to Afghanistan. But when there are incidents in combat actions of collateral casualties, disputes about whether they are civilians or whether they are just combatants, I think having more of these types of enablers, particularly the intelligence platforms, UAVs, might miniize that. Is that something that you consider as -- ?

SEC. GATES: I think it would help. The truth of the matter is, I think 40 percent of the air missions that are called in are called in by our allies because they don't have enough forces there. So this is not strictly an American problem, if you will.

But I will tell you that I believe that the civilian casualties are doing us enormous harm in Afghanistan and we have got to do better in terms of avoiding casualties. And I say that knowing full well the Taliban mingle among the people, use them as barriers; but when we go ahead and attack, we play right into their hands. And we have got to figure out a better way to do these things or to have the Afghans in the lead, because my worry is that the Afghans come to see us as part of their problem rather than part of their solution; and then we are lost.

¹Federal News Service
January 27, 2009 Tuesday
HEARING OF THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE;
SUBJECT: CHALLENGES FACING THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT;
CHAIRED BY: SENATOR CARL LEVIN (D-MI);
WITNESS: SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT GATES;
LOCATION: SD-106, DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D.C.
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING