Say, wouldn't it be crazy if the
Path to 9/11 was true? Say, wouldn't it be even crazier if they got BITS right but the president who did it wrong? Say, wouldn't it be absolutely whacky if they foretold the future?
U.S. passes up chance to strike Taliban
U.S. military officials tell NBC News they had "high-level" Taliban fighters in their gunsights during a July reconnaissance flight but decided not to fire. The decision to pass on the target angered some in the military, but commanders say they have "no regrets."
Army intelligence officers say the grainy black-and-white aerial photo taken by a Predator drone and obtained by NBC News on Tuesday shows some 190 suspected Taliban militants standing in several rows near a vehicle in an open field in Afghanistan.
The military said Wednesday that the group seen in the Predator image was likely gathered for a religious ceremony.
Intelligence officers monitoring the footage captured by the armed, unmanned aircraft tell NBC News they were prepared to fire but were prevented from doing so by military rules of engagement that prohibit waging war in a cemetery.
Such rules are in place in an effort to minimize collateral damage, the killing of innocent civilians or destruction of sensitive targets, such as religious sites.
"During the observation of the group over a significant period of time, it was determined that the group was located on the grounds of a cemetery and were likely conducting a funeral for Taliban insurgents killed in a coalition operation nearby earlier in the day," a coalition spokesperson said. "A decision was made not to strike this group of insurgents at that specific location and time."
Even though U.S. military officials in Afghanistan had positively identified those gathered as Taliban fighters, including some "high-level Taliban leaders," they told NBC News they have "no regrets" in refusing to give the order to attack the gathering.
"Coalition Forces do not discuss rules of engagement; however, they hold themselves to a higher moral and ethical standard than their enemies," the military said in a statement.
Wow, lookit that. Military leaders following good protocol, and while that did lead to what I think we all agree was a badd outcome (more Taliban leaders alive and free) we followed the rules. I don't see any ABC docudrama in the pipeline about this..
I wonder what changed to alter ABC's views. After all, ignoring direct images (this) is arguably worse than not acting on a single, unverified intelligence source that Osama was with some Allies.