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Summary
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has expressed regret over a NATO air strike that Afghan authorities say killed 27 civilians in Afghanistan.Speaking to a forum at Georgetown University here in Washington, Rasmussen said he telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to apologize for the air strike in southern Afghanistan. Of course, there will be bad days when we cause unintended civilian casualties, said Anders Fogh Rasmussen. I just spoke to President Karzai and expressed my deep regrets and condolences for the latest incidents where Afghan civilians have lost their lives, he added. NATO says its planes fired on what was thought to be a group of insurgents in Uruzgan province. During his remarks, the NATO secretary general said such deaths have declined in recent months. Rasmussen said that based on statistics compiled by the United Nations, the Taliban are responsible for most civilian deaths in Afghanistan. Rasmussen says the main lesson learned so far from the war in Afghanistan is that there is no military solution to such conflicts. He says providing good governance, civilian reconstruction and humanitarian assistance are the keys to long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan.
