80 Taleban killed? Actually it was 8...sorry

The Nato force in Afghanistan has said claims it killed up to 80 Taleban fighters in a battle earlier this month were inaccurate.

A statement released on Sunday said the true figure was seven or eight.

It is understood that figures for the total number of fighters and the number of casualties were confused, but the mistake was not immediately corrected.

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But I thought military spokespeople always provided accurate figures...at least that's what the right-wing bloggers tell me...

Meanwhile:

KABUL, Afghanistan -- With his lips quivering and voice breaking, a tearful President Hamid Karzai on Sunday lamented that Afghan children are being killed by NATO and U.S. bombs and by terrorists from Pakistan - a portrait of helplessness in the face of spiraling chaos.

In a heartfelt speech that brought audience members to tears, Karzai said the cruelty imposed on his people "is too much" and that Afghanistan cannot stop "the coalition from killing our children."

"We can't prevent the terrorists from coming from Pakistan, and we can't prevent the coalition from bombing the terrorists, and our children are dying because of this," he said.

The president, who turned tearful after relating stories of children maimed by bombings, took long pauses between sentences and at one point covered both eyes with a white handkerchief.

A single tear rolled down his right cheek and bounced off his suit lapel.

"Cruelty at the highest level," he said, his lower lip quivering. "The cruelty is too much."

The taped speech was shown later on state TV, though that broadcast and other news shows did not show Karzai crying.