Afghanistan: Media outrage over coalition killing of reporter

For many Afghans, slain Afghan journalist Sultan Munadi has become a symbol for all that is wrong with the United States-led war in Afghanistan. One thousand and thirteen Afghan civilians died due to the conflict in the first six months of this year, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, a 24 percent increase over the same period in 2008, when 818 civilians were killed. This figure does not reflect the possibly thousands more who perished due to forced displacement and ruined crops caused by the war. Munadi, an accomplished and respected reporter in his own right, was working as a translator and guide for New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, a Briton, on a story about possible civilian casualties. On Sep. 8, the pair travelled to Kunduz, where U.S. bombers called in by German commander Col. Georg Klein laid waste a fuel tanker that had been hijacked by insurgent fighters. A NATO fact-finding team estimated that about 125 people were killed in the bombing, while a delegation of the Ministry of Interior was sent to gather details about the civilian casualties. A full investigation is still being undertaken. The investigation faces the grim challenge of distinguishing between civilian and insurgent remains, as all were equally turned into ashes.