Talk:Canadian soldier kills 10 year old Afghan boy

Brian,

I have received a message that indicates you are not receptive to my edits of your article. Rather than risk being banned, I would like to know if we can agree mutually to edit the article to include some further citations. Perhaps you find my writing too opinionated, however, I would like to make additions to the article and not have them simply reverted. Rather than fire the article back and forth, would you be willing to revise the article that I have submitted (without removing the additions, perhaps just re-wording them) so we may reach a reasonable compromise?

Thank you for your consideration,

- Nikishka

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The "brace for backlash" part of the headline is a bit odd and also borrowing the term used by the two other news agencies. How about "fallout" or "repercussions"? --Brian McNeil / ^talk 17:12, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Well I think that as it stands its POV mostly. Jason Safoutin 17:13, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree "brace for backlash" should be changed for the sake of originality but given that it's used by two other respected news sources for their headlines I don't think it can be said to be either odd or POV. More emphasis should be given, perhaps, on the carbombing that preceded the shooting incident. Perhaps this Canadian Press story should also be used as a source Car bomb kills Canadian soldier - 3 hurt in suicide attack in Kandahar - Backlash feared as Afghan child slainCrimson 18:09, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Er... You're working from a misconception there. The two sources are somewhat biased, if you follow the Globe and Mail's coverage they're pretty strongly anti-US and against Canada's involvement in the conflict. They'd like nothing more than to stir up public pressure for a troop withdrawal and their choice of words reflects that. However, I strongly suspect the word "backlash" has come from the military themselves - but without a quote to confirm that and quote part of the headline I'd prefer to alter the wording and not mirror the mainstream. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 18:28, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

That's a pretty jaundiced view of Canada's newspaper of record and a bit of an odd view considering that the Globe is pro-Free Trade (not a position generally held by those who are anti-American) and endorsed the Tories in the last election. Which Canadian source would you consider to be neutral?Crimson 22:16, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

The Canadian Press report[1] cites deputy commander Fred Lewis as saying he was concerned about a possible backlash. I've integrated information from the CP wire story and a CanWest (ie National Post) story into the article and changed the headline so that it refers to the carbombing as well. Crimson 22:32, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Npov

Perhaps we could find a non-western source on this? Neutralizer 03:13, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Title

The earlier car bomb being referenced in the title embraces the theory there was a connection and implies justification or at least an excuse. That is not NPOV. Neutralizer 03:19, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

I disagree. It didn't seem anyone was disputing that this happened in the aftermath of a suicide bombing, so this seems as relevant as if the title had been Officer Shoots 10 Year Old During Parade.

A completely separate issue: kills seems more accurate than shoots. Whether the bombing is mentioned or not, I'd think Canadian Soldier Kills 10 Year Old Afghan Boy would be more accurate, based on the cited sources.

Brian,

I have received a message that indicates you are not receptive to my edits of your article. Rather than risk being banned, I would like to know if we can agree mutually to edit the article to include some further citations. Perhaps you find my writing too opinionated, however, I would like to make additions to the article and not have them simply reverted. Rather than fire the article back and forth, would you be willing to revise the article that I have submitted (without removing the additions, perhaps just re-wording them) so we may reach a reasonable compromise?

Thank you for your consideration,

- Nikishka

--

Powered by Linux and Imagination

Following on the heels of a suicide attack that killed a Canadian Forces Corporal, CF troops shot at a motorcycle, killing the passenger and wounding the driver after the driver failed to stop at military cordon that was erected at the scene of the suicide bombimg. The shooting death by Canadian troops of a 10 year-old boy in Kandahar, Afganistan has raised fears of a backlash and retaliation. On Feb. 24, a battle group from Canada's Princess Patricia's Light Infantry took over frontline duties in Kandahar province from a U.S. task force that abandoned the operation to troops from a NATO alliance.

Canadian personnel have weathered a number of attacks in recent months, including a deadly bombing in Kandahar in mid-January that killed a Canadian diplomat and seriously injured three soldiers.

"A motorcycle carrying two people broke through the Afghan National Police outer security cordon at high speed," said Colonel Fred Lewis, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "The driver failed to heed multiple warnings to stop as he headed towards the inner Canadian cordon. A Canadian ISAF soldier then opened fire in a defensive application of our rules of engagement. A single round struck both the driver and the passenger of the motorcycle."

The teenaged driver ran from the scene but later returned to the Canadians for medical help and was airlifted to the military hospital at Kandahar Air Field.

Lewis doubts soldiers had time to fire warning shots due to the speed of the oncoming motorcycle. He also said that while no explosives were found on the vehicke he had a "sneaking suspicion" that soldiers feared the motorcycle carried a second suicide bomber and acted defensively. He added that he was concerned that the Taliban would try to exploit the incident for propaganda purposes and that he was concerned about a possible backlash by locals.

"I would be concerned about it and I think we need to pass the right message to the Afghan people," he said. "The message is that we're here to help them and we certainly would never want to hurt them."

Relatives of the boys were at the gates of the Canadian military base last night demanding answers.

Corporal David Braun was killed in the suicide attack which occured two hours before the shooting. Three other soldiers were wounded but are listed in good condition. An Afghan child also died in the blast which occured when a suicide bomber rammed his car into a Canadian convoy on patrol in Kandahar.

Corporal Braun is the 27th Canadian soldier to die since Canadian military operations in Afghanistan began in late 2001 as part of the American led "War on Terror".

• I have no opinion on the content of the edits you made, they are a significant change to an article that has been published for two days. If there is new information a new article should be started. It is a disservice to our readers who first pick up a story when published to substantially alter the copy they will find if coming back some time later. A secondary purpose of Wikinews is an archive of what was known at an instant in time. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 23:01, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Article revision post

The shooting death by Canadian troops of a 10 year-old boy in Afghanistan has raised fears of a backlash and retaliation. The boy was shot and a teenager injured at on August 23rd when, while driving a motorcycle, they sped through a roadblock cordoning off the scene of an earlier suicide bombing that killed Canadian Corporal David Braun. Soldiers warned the driver, a 17-year-old Afghan, to stop, but when he failed to do so a soldier opened fire, with one bullet passing through the driver and killing his passenger. The body of the boy has been returned to his parents, while the teenager was taken to hospital at Kandahar airfield and is listed in stable condition. Relatives of the boys were at the gates of the Canadian military base last night demanding answers. "A motorcycle carrying two people broke through the Afghan National Police outer security cordon at high speed," said Colonel Fred Lewis, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. "The driver failed to heed multiple warnings to stop as he headed towards the inner Canadian cordon. A Canadian ISAF soldier then opened fire in a defensive application of our rules of engagement. A single round struck both the driver and the passenger of the motorcycle." He said that while no explosives were found on the vehicle he had a "sneaking suspicion" that soldiers feared the motorcycle carried a second suicide bomber and acted defensively. He added that he was concerned that the Taliban would try to exploit the incident for propaganda purposes and that he was concerned about a possible backlash by locals. "I would be concerned about it and I think we need to pass the right message to the Afghan people," he said. "The message is that we're here to help them and we certainly would never want to hurt them." Corporal Braun is the 27th Canadian soldier to die since Canadian military operations in Afghanistan began in late 2001 as part of the American led "War on Terror".

Brian,

Although I agree with the principle of not revising articles already posted, it does stand to reason that citable facts related to the story still stand as an important part of balanced reporting. Although your article, as originally posted, does not necessarily push a point of view, it leaves out the relevant fact that soldiers did fire warning shots, and that CF personnel did provide assistance to the injured driver. If an article is lacking in critical facts, then it does a disservice to the archive to not revise the facts.

- Nikishka