In 2008, there were over 2,100 civilians casualties across Afghanistan. US airstrikes accounted for 552 deaths, up more than 70% compared to the year before. Militants were responsible for more than half the overall total. The bitter truth is that most of these incidents could be avoided.
Afghanistan: After an Airstrike
Published May 30, 2009
Jason Motlagh has been reporting from Afghanistan for several months, first embedding with U.S. troops and more recently looking at the other side of the conflict -- the growing numbers of civilian casualties. Over webcam from Kabul, Motlagh tells iWitness what happened when a recent U.S. airstrike hit a village in the province of Herat, killing scores of civilians. Sharing dramatic footage and images in the wake of the bombings and interviewing victims and U.S. military, Motlagh reports conflicting accounts of what took place. The story he pieces together offers some measure of why the U.S. and NATO are reassessing how they fight the war in Afghanistan.
Motlagh's ongoing coverage from Afghanistan is funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and is part of a joint reporting venture between the Center and FRONTLINE/World's iWitness program.
On Febraury 9, Pulitzer Center journalist, Jason Motlagh visited Stanford University to speak with students about working as a foreign correspondent in today's media environment.
Jason Motlagh recounts how he first teamed up with the Pulitzer Center, which kick-started his career as an independent journalist reporting in war zones in India and Afghanistan.
Gateways
Grantee
Jason Motlagh is a multimedia journalist who was until recently TIME Magazine’s Kabul correspondent. He has reported from around Afghanistan and more than 30 countries for leading US and...
