I totally agree with the Afghan journalists.  ALL human life should be treated with dignity, ESPECIALLY those who put in harms way.  It is unfortunate that Mr. Munadi had to give his life for his country and my prayers will especially go out to his family and peers.  I would only hope that this will be an example to everyone around the world that no human life should be ignored and that their dignities should be respected.  This entire conflict, war, whatever it's being called these days is a complete attrocity.  

Gee, there's a surprise, Afghans are only now understanding the priorities of the west.

So sad that anyone had to die, and even sadder that the Afghan that was killed is viewed as being inhumanely handled.  How LONG must we Westerners cause problems before we leave these countries to balance themselves?  They don't WANT us there, let's LEAVE!  We could pay for the damned universal health care (46 million US citizens with no insurance) with the money spent on these wars.  I voted for Obama because he PROMISED to bring the troops home, but he didn't, he sent them to Afghanistan.

Personally, I don't believe the rescue is worth putting a soldiers life at risk.  The reporter in those countries like Afghanistan know they are taking a risk by even being there.  In my opinion they are taking their own life in their hands when they do this kind of work.  Why risk a trained soldier's life to rescue someone who decided to take on this kind of risk.

Obama promised alot of things you will NEVER see. Get used to it. They should not have left anyone unless it would have cost more lives to do so. There is always two sides to a story and we willnever know the WHOLE truth. If Obama is going to send more troops to this region lets kick some A-- and get that skinny SOB and get our Troops home. Perhaps then I would have a little respect for a politician.

Afghani journalists are understandably upset, but they're taking it out on the wrong people. It's the radical Islamic terrorists that kidnapped Munadi who are responsible for his death. They should be screaming bloody murder, but it should be directed at the Taliban. Instead, like most others in the tight knit international reporters' fraternity, they seem to be more interested in winning points with Islamo-fascist monsters than in trying to solve a problem. The Afghani journalists should mourn their loss. But they should also separate the good guys from the bad guys rather than lumping them all together.

Bring the troops AND the journalists home!

I agree with Alan, North Carolina.  The only thing horrific in this story, is that a British forces soldier traded his life for a reporter.  What a waste.  

My prayers are for the families of the soldier, and  Mr. Munadi. To "leave behind" anyone is never the wish of a commando or any troop I have ever heard of.
I was a Marine wife and the mother of another Marine and the "Semper Fi" is a strong bond.  I am sure this was as distasteful for the men that were there as it was for the families of those "left behind", and my tears and peaceful wishes are for all who were involved.  Our armed forces deserve every prayer and best wish where ever they are, and I, too, wish that the media journalists who follow them around to give us the news would consider the danger they put our troops in when they tell too much, and show too much and then have our people have to go "SAVE" them.  Why don't you let the troops give you the story while you stay back  a little and stop compromising their safety?  You journalists, trying for a Pulitzer, cost many a mother her son!  You have no business in the places you think we want to know about.  Some of what you "report" absolutely should not be reported!! There are some things that should not be said!!  Praise God that my granddad didn't "report" all that he saw during the WWII Pacific campaign.  Thank you, Granddad for keeping some of it to yourself!  You journalists , please, stop "helping" us with the stories and "hurting" us with the injuries you cause by going where you indanger everyone!!!!!

I am a Marine's wife and another Marine's mother.  I wish the reporters and journalists , simply trying for a Pulizter, would get out and stop reporting too much, and photographing too much and endangering my loved ones.  Somethings do not need to be seen in war, and should not be shown.  And you are harming our own troops with the things you show, they are supposed to be in places where the enemy do not know!!! Stop all your filming and showing where they are.  Journalists go home, you cost more than you are worth.

I have first hand knowledge of Direct Action mission's in a Close Quarter Battle (CQB) environment. They are very complex operations that are planned very carefully. Things don't always go right. This story is one sided, there is alot that went right and alot of details we do not know about. How about a thanks for the mission itself and the sacrifice of those soldiers. Why don't we do that for a change?

Mike, would you please elaborate on what these so called priorities are that the west has for Afghanistan?  

The reports understands the risk they are involved in.  Why is the British journalist is saved by a solider and the Afghan journalist was left behind they didn't even care to take his body. Majority of Afghan people likes the foreign troops in Afghanistan only less then 1 percent of people are against it.  

Repeat after me: We are not in Afghanistan to help Afghanis. We are there because their unstable, lawless country was a haven for Osama Bin Laden and his murderers, and we cannot allow that to vere happen again. Yes, we are stuck there, but for excellent reasons.

I have to agree with most of these statements in one way or another. It's a shame to lose the life of a trained soldier to rescue that of a journalist who may have been irresponsible. I also think the Afghans need to demand that their lives and bloodshed are seen and acknowledged. Leaving his corpse behind only to have his family retrieve it was crass and disrespectful by any measure. Since Obama was elected the # of Afghans killed has risen greatly, and they don't even report Pakistani casualties. We need more horrific images and more #'s to get people off their asses and start demanding an end to this fake for profit war!  

I honestly feel that they are blowing it all out of proprtion, as a grunt on the ground, it is quite possible that it was an honest mistake. I wouldnt have known what the afghan looked like, for all you know it could have been dark in the room. In a hail of gunfire, you dont know what is going to happen. It is quiet possible that they British soldiers had to leave in a big hurry. You do not know the number of Taliban in the area. Unless you were their, who are you do judge their actions.

MSNBC reported:  “The Times kept the kidnappings quiet out of concern for the men's safety, and other media outlets, including The Associated Press, did not report the abductions following a request from the Times.”
Needless to say, I am happy for the return of the reporter and saddened by the death of the British Commando and the Afghan interpreter.  But isn’t it interesting that the AP would keep the story quiet “to protect” the reporter, while just a few days earlier they released the photographs of Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard dying in Afghanistan despite repeated requests from the DOD and the Bernard family not to publish the photos.  In the name of “journalistic responsibility” and the “public’s right to know” they chose to ignore common decency, humanity and the feelings of the Bernard family and publish the photos.  Yet, when it is one of their own; safety, protection and security trump “journalistic responsibility” and “the public’s right to know.”
All in all the story reeks of protecting their own and others be damned.  I wonder if the story of the kidnapping would have been “kept quiet” if the victim had not been a “brother” from the media.  I also wonder if the photographs had been of a dying reporter rather than a dying marine, if the photographs would have been published.  In making such decisions they undermine the trust they must have with the public to establish credibility.  These decisions further the growing impression that they “filter and sift to their own end” rather than report with unbiased eyes and ears.

Death...it is very impersonal to most of us, except when we face the grim reaper directly.  Tomorrow, it will be one more headline, one more tragedy.  To  Mr. Munadi's family it is an immediate and devastating reality, and how can anyone really tell them how sorry we readers are for the seemingly diminished concern Western authorities apparently placed on an Afghani journalist who was working in concert, in this instance, with a NYT reporter.  Mr. Munadi should have been accorded the same respect as Mr. Farrell.  We, the readers, are interested in what is going on there for myriad reasons.  The news interests are doing us a great service in attempting to bring some clarity to what is so chaotic. It is also tragic that the soldier had to die while doing something so selfless. There is nothing unusual in this war, its ongoing tragedy and death. If we as a people believe our interests are entwined with what is going on in Afghanistan, we need to remember that it is just not a geopolitical calisthenic, but something that impacts countless lives (living, breathing people with similar aspirations as ours) in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and NATO countries.  In this vein, we should remember our humanity and sense of fair play.  This is what we Americans are supposed to be about.    

I completely agree with Alan. A soldier's life should never be put at risk for a journalist. There has been far too much of that. The journalists jeopardize lives, operations, and moral.

HONESTLY, not one more life should be added to the
9/11 tally...the only people rejoicing in the Afgan  war are the Taliban and bin Laden.  Offer to build a Fort Knox over Pakistan's nuclear weapons and then let's leave....yesterday!

There are a few who clearly understand the part they play in protecting human decency and freedoms.  Those who willingly sacrifice their lives in the act of protecting that decency and those freedoms from the likes of tyrany, wherever it may be or whatever it's title is, do so with that understanding in mine.  Dead or alive, they are the heros of the times  they find themselves in.  They know the price that must be paid at times to defend the inicents from boundless tyrany, wherever it surfaces its destructive face.

Extraction of kidnapped civilians is very risky and does put our soldiers at risk. They are well trained for these missions. What's also important though, is that it sends the enemy a message. If we just walk away they'll continue to attack us on our own soil. They will also eliminate any human rights their citizens may have achieved. Let's stop debating in congress and do what it takes to get the job done now..

Leah, A fort knox will not prevent the actions of those who would see us destroyed, our way of life, our values.  We are fighting the good fight, we are right, do not forget this.  The enemy has counted on us to grow weary of the fight in past battles, (remember Japan?) So, to quote George Bush the senior, we must "stay the course" and hold fast to our beliefs.

Many Islamic cultures consider it taboo for someone not of the faith to handle the dead and thats a fact.

I don't think this story is based on many facts.

just one more disgrace. Just keep falling over yourselves. Pathetic! What a waist of human life this entire fiasco has been for 8 long years. Get ready for Gulf War Syndrome part two! It only took 18 years for the American Pentagon to admit that the soldiers became sick from the injections used during the first gulf war......They are still being injected to this day. Like I said.  Pathetic

It is regrettable that so many in the US, like Chis Henry (above), fail to understand that a lasting peace and that a greater good can only exist on the other side of war.  This is typical of the liberal mindset.  By nature, liberals are appeasers, incapable of showing backbone in the face of real adversity.  Instead of standing in the face of evil and championing the cause of liberty, they would prefer to stand idly by and let nature take its sometimes horrifying course.  They excuse their cowardice by stating that the West should not "impose" their belief in and defense of individual freedoms on the rest of the world.  They fail to understand that the desire for freedom is not dependent on what hemisphere your reside in, your religious beliefs, or on whether your country is the former stronghold of a colonial power.  It is a universal constant, a true mark of the human condition.  Just ask the Afghan women who were murdered under the reign of the Taliban for daring to learn to read or for similar affronts to the Taliban's twisted view of Islam.

Mr. Henry and his kind (not the Taliban) are the true plague of our world, those who claim to be the guardians of equality and justice (i.e., demanding universal healthcare)but scurry away when the cost of defending basic human dignity might require real sacrifice.  Interestingly, those who demand universal healthcare, are by and large, those Americans who pay no tax.  I wonder if Mr. Henry is part of that lot. Sacrifice is easy when someone else must pay the price.

I beg Americans to wake up before it is too late.  Turn off American Idol.  Stop watching Entertainment Tonight.  Your country needs you, your world needs you.  Stand against evil.  Stand against Iran, stand against North Korea, stand agaisnt hte resurgence of the Taliban.  As Americans, we have the strength and the power to spread political, religious, and economic freedom to every corner of the globe.  We must not sacrifice that destiny and allow half-wits like Mr. Henry or infatuation with celebrity marriages (or similar tripe) to mute that goal.  If we do not meet our destiny, we will have not only cheated those around the world that need our help, we will have cheated our children.  The survival of American culture depends on the survival of basic human liberties around the world.  If those liberties must be defended with American blood (including my blood), so be it.

Well said, Brad.  There is no objectivity left in the media.  It died long ago, near the time that Cronkite retired.

Alan... right in one!!  I understand why the raid was performed, but reporters, for the sake of a sensational story will take absurd risks.  Unfortunately, all too often costing the lives of others in order to rescue them from their own stupidity.  My condolences to the British Comando's family, service, and country... it is truly sad that such brave young men and women must sacrifice their lives for such unimportant individuals.  However, that is the cost of any war, conventional or unconventional, a cost bourne in blood, young lives, and so much lost potential.  Perhaps someday world leaders will actually look to history BEFORE they commit to an action and attempt to avoid the same mistakes.

in the last few months all you have so many stories about Afghanistan and its violence.

If Afghanistan were still a Buddhist state ( which it was before the Islamic conquest ) do you think it would have been so troublesome ?

Which brings us to the second question...........?

You people who do not think we belong in Afghanistan to stop the Taliban should be the first to volunteer as the victims in the next 9/11, planned and run from Afghanistan.

Folks, remember, NO one "makes" the journalists go into these combat zones!Along with ruining the security of our nation with their"exposes" as they call them, they constantly put our soldiers in harms way that should never be,so they can supposedly inform the public as to what the real story on war really is!Then they carry a bleeding heart story that is re-written by their sponsers to sell the most print and stories,no matter what the real cost of lives, and the real actual story was!If a journalist is in a combat area, he should carry a weapon so he can protect himself,instead of expecting a soldier to give his life and freedom to save him, so he can go back and turn public sentiment against our troops for their "atrocities" against our sworn enemies! I personally do not care about anyone elses opinion about what i have said here, but we are Americans, and this crap about "innocent civilians" in these places is a bunch of crap.Who can judge these people as such,if they are not there to see first hand,and why should we as Americans believe ANY propaganda coming from another countries sworn enemies of us!People, instead of this "poor, pitiful,mis-treated innocent civilians crap, think of the U.S. soldiers that have fought and died and the thanks you are not giving them, or the help you are not giving their families after they gave their lives for you,here!!
We are at WAR, and if you think for one minute the enemies of our country ,should they come here and wage  war against us on our soil would care one iota if they killed our "civilians" then you have to be either one of the worlds biggest fools, or so completly naive you need to really do some searching about the real truth! It is not my intent to hurt anyones feelings here, nor argue, because I won't lower myself to respond to anyones comments derogatory to my nation.My opinions are my own, and based on facts that anyone who will take the time to really think about it, will see!
We see pictures of children with mangled bodies, and wounds,--where are the pictures of our soldiers lying in a hospital bed with torn limbs,hanging on by a shred of life,and the stories of how they were torn apart by a roadside bomb,planted by "an innocent civilian"!I swear, some of the comments I see on here coming from "so called" Americans really make me sick when I think one day we may all have to defend our country here on our own soil!Remember_United we will Stand_ But the enemies within that are trying to undermine our country with their snide comments trying to turn our sentiment against our own country ar eenemies,as well as the others carrying weapons in the other countries!Even if they happen to be 10 or 12 years old.Believe it or not--take a trip to Congo--Zaire--Nigeria-WE feed them--give them medical help here when we won't even take care of our kids,and old people--and they grow up to kill our people there trying to help them--go figure that,folks!Comment if you like,but this post is fact--you figure your own ideas but before you comment--YOU go to some of these places and see first hand what we  are dealing with--and the thanks we GET! Thanks for your time!Have a great day!

Hey Chris Henry,

Eight years ago today, the United States was invited to Afghanistan by way of being attacked.  The fact that the Afghan people don't want us there is irrelevant.  

It's sad that most of the posters seem to care more for a society that hates us and care less about my fellow soldiers who go in harms way to protect them.  

Show some gratitude and support the mission.  Otherwise,go join your Taliban friends.

Rob

What no one seems to understand is that the British raiders went into a hostile area, extracted a British journalist and then departed quickly.  The main thing on everyone's mind is to get in, accomplish the mission and extract successfully.  The fact they left Munadi's body behind wasnt the smartest thing they did but I am sure in the confusion, noise, gunfire and terror, he probably looked like just another dead taliban.  There were quite a few things done correctly during the raid or there would have been more chest beating and wailing from individuals.

It's time we Americans understand that freedom and security is not free and the price is paid with blood. Our culture has become so weak and forgetfull. Remember..think hard America. We are suppose to be the home of the brave....that goes not just for our soldiers but for ALL Americans!!!!!

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