Envoy: Better U.S.-Afghan coordination will cut civilian deaths

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States ambassador to Afghanistan, William Wood, said Friday that changes in communications with Afghan military forces have been made in the aftermath of a disputed U.S. air raid on an Afghan village.

And despite Afghanistan's outrage over the loss of life, he said, the incident has not undermined the nations' relationship.

The Afghanistan government has said that as many as 90 civilians -- including many children -- were killed in the August 22 air attack on a village in the Shindand district of Western Afghanistan. The United States had said that only seven civilians died, along with dozens of insurgents.

A number of investigations into the incident are under way, including a "senior level" review by the United States.

"People who are reviewing our findings have been in Afghanistan for a while, and I don't know when they will complete their review," Wood said at the State Department late Friday.

"There is no American involved who doesn't feel a personal sense of pain and regret any time any civilian casualty occurs," he said. "Speaking as an official of the American government, I can say there is no one who works harder than the United States does to minimize such casualties.

"I know as a matter of absolute certainty of operations that have been canceled precisely because there was a risk of civilian casualties," he added.

"I think there is no question there has been what one Afghan official referred to as 'sort of a bumpy time' over this issue in the last few weeks. I think that it has never threatened the underlying relationship of confidence between our two countries and between our peoples or between our military and the people of Afghanistan.

"That said, we are certainly committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure that such casualties are reduced to the absolute minimum and to working closely, even more closely, with the Afghan government to successfully carry out the military mission."

The ambassador said the United States has made changes in communication between the U.S. and Afghan forces.

"Steps are already not simply under way but have been taken to improve coordination," he said.

U.S. and Afghanistan officials have just completed a new round in what is called the United States-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership.

A joint U.S.-Afghanistan statement released Thursday referred to the attack.

"The United States delegation expressed regret over the loss of any innocent civilian lives incurred during security operations," the statement said. "In response to concerns expressed by the government of Afghanistan, the United States is conducting a senior level review and assessment of the August 22 Shindand operation. In addition, both sides recognize the need for establishing a mutually agreed-upon framework and mechanism to minimize civilian casualties and to maintain the strong support of the Afghan people in fighting terrorism."

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