Speaking in the capital, Kabul, Nato spokesman Brigadier Richard Nugee said the alliance was working to change its tactics in 2007 - and civilian casualties were the number one issue to be addressed.
"I believe the single thing that we have done wrong and we are striving extremely hard to improve on is killing innocent civilians," he said.
So, is he saying that NATO is going to improve on how they kill innocent civilians or that it will try not to?
(kidding)
There is no doubt that winning the whole 'hearts and minds' thing involves admitting your mistakes and then trying to do better. NATO could improve that situation by being honest when its troops do kill civilians instead of issuing standard denials that are the stock in trade of military aggressors who believe they somehow maintain the moral high ground by dismissing accounts of civilian deaths from area residents. There have been too many such instances where Afghans (and Iraqis) have been made to look like liars when they decry these deaths and are struck by the almighty hand of the military in an insulting and degrading way for simply trying to get the truth out.
Karzai has repeatedly warned the forces in his country to use extreme caution as he has publicly excoriated the coalition for being careless to the point of callousness at times when civilians have been killed. But, there is nothing he can do to change what's happening.
The war being waged in Afghanistan still follows Rumsfeld's rule of using a stealth force to tackle a hugely complicated situation. Everyone has paid for that and will continue to do so now that the NATO allies are not only overstretched but also weary of that war. History has shown how difficult it is to deal with a country like Afghanistan and that is being borne out to this day. NATO won't be able to kill its way out of this one. It's time for a sharper focus on political solutions involving all of the players in the region - most particularly Pakistan.
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