Afghan Civilian Deaths Stir NATO Unease

An Afghan street vendor cleans dust from his mirrors which are for sale, at the market in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, May 24, 2007. Three recent U.S. special forces operations that killed at least 90 Afghan civilians have caused friction with America's NATO partners, who are concerned the killings hurt the standing of Western troops fighting the Taliban insurgency. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq) (Musadeq Sadeq - AP)

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer alluded to possible fissures in the 26-member alliance at a news conference with President Bush on Monday, saying Afghanistan is a front line in the fight against terrorism "that should not become a fault line."

Bush noted that the Taliban "likes to surround themselves with innocent civilians."

"Obviously, to the extent that the United States is working with our NATO allies in combat, we care deeply about protecting innocent life," Bush said. "And to those who _ Afghans who have lost innocent civilians _ we grieve with you."

Lt. Col. Matthew McLaughlin, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, in Tampa, Fla., which oversees U.S. special forces, said: "We take every precaution to avoid civilian casualties, but understand in this complex environment, facing an enemy with no regard for civilian life, unfortunately civilian losses are sustained."

Airstrikes called in by U.S. special forces fighting some 200 Taliban militants near Sangin in southern Afghanistan this month killed 21 civilians, Afghan officials said. Fighting late last month killed some 50 civilians in the western province of Herat, according to Afghan and U.N. officials. In March, U.S. Marines fired on civilians after a suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan, killing 19.

A senior European diplomat said not all NATO officials were blaming U.S. forces, given some of the difficult military situations they faced. The official, who asked not to be named because of the nature of the topic, said both coalition and NATO troops need to take better care to avoid civilian deaths.

Everts said the U.S. operations can be "quite defensible," but that by not quickly sharing accurate information, false perceptions can emerge. In the wake of the fighting in Herat, the coalition said it had killed 136 militants. But reports soon emerged of dozens of civilian dead.

Everts said officials in Kabul and Brussels were exploring ways to more closely involve Afghan forces to help reduce civilian casualties _ a long-standing demand from Karzai. He said he wholly supports the "Afghanization" of the international mission.

"It still has to be worked out, but it's moving in that direction," he said.

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Associated Press Writer Jason Straziuso reported from Kabul, and Paul Ames reported from Brussels, Belgium.