There's no winning in Afghanistan

Afghan and coalition forces conducted sweeps across Afghanistan that left at least 30 militants dead, while insurgents in the east killed five security guards in an ambush on a convoy, officials said Saturday.

International and Afghan forces carried out an operation before dawn Friday in the Sangin district of Helmand province that killed 10 insurgents, according to Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the regional governor.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/2010-05-15-militants-afghanistan_N.htm

At least 30 militants killed in Afghanistan by NATO raids. Surely, that's good news, right?

Hundreds of protesters brandished sticks, threw stones and burned an American flag Friday in eastern Afghanistan as they accused NATO forces of killing civilians in an overnight raid, but the alliance said eight insurgents were killed in the attack.

Also Friday, the governor of eastern Paktiya province narrowly escaped an attack when a suicide bomber jumped in front of a vehicle in his convoy in the provincial capital, Gardez, the governor's spokesman said.

In the neighboring province of Nangahar, more than 500 people poured into the streets in the Surkh Rod district to protest the raid by international forces.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said in a faxed statement that ten "innocent people" were killed in the Surkh Rod village of Saydan, and that he "strongly condemned" the operation.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/2010-05-14-nato-civilians_N.htm

So, while we're happy to have killed another 30, our "ally" says 10 of those we've killed were "innocent people".

There's no winning in Afghanistan.