CLICK TO SEE MORE...

US & CANADA

22 September 2011 Last updated at 08:23 ET

Troy Davis executed in Georgia amid innocence protests

COMMENTS (653)

Death row inmate Troy Davis has been executed in the US state of Georgia for the fatal shooting of policeman Mark MacPhail in 1989.

Davis' death was delayed for hours while the US Supreme Court considered an eleventh-hour appeal for clemency.

The 42-year-old's case was heavily disputed after most of the witnesses recanted or changed their testimony.

Inside the jail in Jackson, Georgia, Davis protested his innocence until the end as supporters protested outside.

There was a heavy police presence as hundreds held a vigil awaiting news from the US Supreme Court.

"I am innocent," Davis said moments before he was executed. "I did not have a gun."

Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing MacPhail, an off-duty police officer, but always maintained he was innocent.

The US Supreme Court judges took more than four hours to issue their rejection of the final appeal, an unusually long time for such a ruling.

"The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice [Clarence] Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied," it read.

Davis continued to protest his innocence in the death chamber.

"For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.

"All I can ask... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight."

Davis was pronounced dead at 23:08 (03:08 GMT Thursday), 15 minutes after the lethal injection began.

Ballistic 'flawed'

MacPhail was shot dead in July 1989 as he tried to help a homeless man who was being attacked in a Burger King car park.

Prosecutors said Davis was beating the man with a gun after demanding a beer from him.

No gun was found and no DNA evidence conclusively linked Davis to the murder.

On Wednesday morning, Davis' lawyers appealed to the county court responsible for Georgia's death row, but that was also rejected.

The legal team had argued that ballistic testing from the case was flawed.

The pardons board also dismissed an appeal to reconsider their decision on Monday to deny Davis clemency.

Prosecutors said they had no doubts as to his guilt.

"I'm kind of numb. I can't believe that it's really happened," Anneliese MacPhail, the mother of the murdered policeman, told the Associated Press news agency after Davis was killed.

"All the feelings of relief and peace I've been waiting for all these years, they will come later. I certainly do want some peace."

Davis counted Pope Benedict XVI and former US President Jimmy Carter among his supporters, as well as US conservative figures like former member of the House of Representatives Bob Barr and former FBI director William Sessions.

Outside the prison, hundreds of people gathered chanting: "They say, death row; we say, hell no".

Around 10 counter-demonstrators were also present, voicing support for the death penalty and for the family of MacPhail.

There was a heavy police presence, including large numbers of riot police, but no disturbances were reported.

International protests

Davis' execution date had already been changed three times.

Protests had taken on an international dimension since Monday's decision to deny clemency by the Georgia pardons board.

The Council of Europe had also called for Davis' sentence to be commuted.

Amnesty International and other groups organised protests at the US embassy in Paris, where 150 people gathered in Place de la Concorde, holding signs bearing Davis' image.

"We strongly deplore that the numerous appeals for clemency were not heeded," the French foreign ministry said after the execution.

In Washington DC dozens gathered outside the White House, in the hope that President Barack Obama might intervene at the last-minute.

But White House press secretary Jay Carney said it would not be appropriate for the president to interfere in specific cases of state prosecution, such as this one.

Reports suggested around a dozen people were arrested for refusing to co-operate with police.

Meanwhile in the US state of Texas another death row inmate, Lawrence Russell Brewer, was executed on Wednesday evening - in a very different case.

In 1998, white supremacist gang member Brewer, 44, dragged a black man chained to the back of a pick-up truck along a road until he died.

Hold up your hand.

In men, it’s usually longer than the index finger; in women, it’s typically shorter.

That ring finger is wiggling evidence by itself of how much testosterone or estrogen you were exposed to in your mother’s womb.

Dr. Zhengui Zheng and fellow researcher Martin J. Cohn at the University of Florida used mice to determine that the relative length of the index and ring fingers are developed in gestation and stay the same after birth.

Further experiments showed it is specifically the androgen (for example, testosterone) or estrogen levels in the ring finger that determine how long it is.

The more androgen, the longer the ring finger.

Science has long studied the connection between finger length and several factors, including behaviour, fertility, breast and prostate cancer, sexual orientation, and athletic ability.

Now this study has produced genetic evidence for those links, all encoded in your fourth finger, or 4D as scientists call it.

And, as Zheng told the Star, that evidence could also tell doctors if a woman was exposed to hormone-disrupting chemicals during pregnancy that could help trace a disease.

“There are genetic reasons and environmental reasons” for the length of male and female 4Ds, he said.

“A major factor is development of the embryos’ own gonads (ovaries and testes), which produce sex hormones. The mother’s physiological condition or even what the mother eats might affect the sex hormone levels in womb.

“Finally, exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals can change sex hormone signalling.”

What’s also interesting, said Zheng, is that the stage when 4D bone length is influenced by the sex hormones in the womb is the same point when sex steroids “masculinize and feminize the brain.”

“Digit ratios may be simply readouts of androgen to estrogen activity during this period,” he said.

I will never hear church bells ringing again without smiling...

The Stanley Cup, visiting Newfoundland and Labrador with Boston Bruin Michael Ryder, was about to be flown by chopper from St. John’s to Bonavista when the unthinkable occurred: the table holding the cup collapsed and it fell to the ground. Though the new dent is sizeable and not very subtle, it’s only another bit of ‘character’ as Ryder explained. Indeed, the Stanley Cup has been through a lot over the years – just take a look at the Top 10 Stanley Cup stories to get a clear idea of the cups history of falls.

"I'm 77 and I'm Tired"

I'm 77. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some some serious health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honour"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia, New Zealand, UK, America and Canada, while no one from these countries are allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 77.. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughters and their children.

And the bloggers wife and 2 friends are in New York this weekend , both Manhatten and New Jersey because she loves New York...go figure, bad timing for a trip...

NEW YORK — Evacuations up and down the U.S. East Coast were under way Friday as Hurricane Irene barrelled north from America's southern states and threatened up to 65 million people — that's one in five Americans — who live in the swath that defines the storm's possible trajectories.

As the potential for enormous damage loomed, the White House said U.S President Barack Obama had told aides he would cut short his vacation and return to the U.S. capital.

Obama had, a little more than an hour earlier, warned East Coaster residents to take the threat of the hurricane seriously, and pledged that federal help had already been mobilized.

"All indications point to this being a historic hurricane," he said in the audio address from a farm on the northeastern island of Martha's Vineyard, where his family would remain as scheduled until Saturday morning, while he would leave Friday night.

What's generally considered to be the last "historic" hurricane — Katrina in 2005 — turned into a public-relations nightmare for Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, as more than 1,800 people died during flooding in New Orleans and amid huge destruction along the Gulf of Mexico coastline east of that city.

Bush faced heavy criticism and was widely accused of failing to deliver a more intense federal response than the one that unfolded.

With Obama's job approval ratings already low because of anger over high unemployment rates and the sluggish economy, the current U.S. president will want to avoid the possibility of similar criticism.

"I think the president simply reached the conclusion that it would be more prudent for him to be in Washington, D.C., and to be at the White House at the end of the day today," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

In his address, Obama sought to reassure the public that his administration has done all that is conceivable to prepare for Irene, and urged Americans to do their bit.

"Although we can't predict with perfect certainty the impact of Irene over the next few days, the federal government has spent the better part of last week working closely with officials in communities that could be affected by this storm to see to it that we are prepared," he said.

"So now is the time for residents of these communities, in the hours that remain, to do the same."

Preparations were particularly feverish in New York, America's largest city, where Mayor Mike Bloomberg is keen to cover all bases — especially in the wake of his administration's disastrous response to a snowstorm last winter.

By repeatedly warning that people "might die" if they fail to heed mandatory evacuation orders for low-lying areas near the ocean or other water, Bloomberg has heightened the sense of urgency as the hurricane approaches — even though the newest projected paths of Hurricane Irene have it largely sparing New York as it passes Sunday.

"This is nothing to take lightly," Bloomberg said Friday. "We can joke about this on Monday morning, but until then it is a matter of life and death."

Some 250,000 of New York's nine million people are subject to the mandatory evacuation order whereby they must leave their homes for at least 24 hours and head to shelters or make other arrangements.

Bloomberg said none of the evacuees should fear widespread looting.

"I think you can expect people in New York City to behave and to understand that we're all in this together," he said, suggesting a sharp contrast with the widespread lawlessness that New Orleans suffered during the flooding of that city.

"We do have the world's greatest police department, but I don't know that they're going to be needed to stop that kind of behaviour."

Still, the mayor added, "In the end, what is more important, your life or your belongings?"

The city will come to a near-total halt late Saturday and throughout Sunday as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shuts down New York's entire bus and subway systems.

MTA officials said that's necessary because wind and flooding projections are deemed certain to provoke accidents. Halting the service also makes it easier to get it up and running again on Monday when, Bloomberg said, the city plans on resuming a "normal" workday.

By law, people who ignore evacuation orders could face a misdemeanour charge that carries up to a $500 fine, but Bloomberg said no one would be prosecuted.

"We're not trying to punish people, we're trying to protect them," he said of the evacuation effort — New York's first-ever mandatory one.

He beseeched people not to attempt to swim in the sea, warning that the "moon is in (the) right place to give high tides" — which in turn, could easily sweep swimmers away.

Bloomberg also urged everyone to remain indoors Sunday to avoid being hit by objects that inevitably will be whipped up by winds projected to exceed 50 kilometres per hour in the city.

"If you can, stay inside on Sunday, it is a good time to catch up or sleep late," he said.

New York Stock Exchange Euronext vowed to resume trading Monday; spokesman Richard Adamonis said Friday there were "contingency plans in place for such events."

Weekend sporting events were cancelled up and down the eastern seaboard after governors of successive eastern states declared states of emergency.

Hurricane Irene poses the biggest threat to the U.S. Northeast since Hurricane Gloria in 1985. The National Hurricane Center said Irene is on a path to make landfall in North Carolina's Outer Banks Saturday, then skirt the East Coast, passing either over or by New York on Sunday, then proceed on to New England.

To co-ordinate responses, Obama spoke Friday with governors and mayors of big cities along the eastern seaboard, White House officials said. He also was briefed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano; Craig Fugate, the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator; White House chief of staff Bill Daley and other officials.

Obama signed a federal emergency declaration for North Carolina, authorizing the Homeland Security Department and FEMA to co-ordinate disaster response and mobilize resources.

Source
sedwards

Golf Club Sign
Here is an actual sign posted at a golf club in Scotland, UK:
1. BACK STRAIGHT, KNEES BENT, FEET SHOULDER WIDTH APART.
2. FORM A LOOSE GRIP.
3. KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!
4. AVOID A QUICK BACK SWING.
5. STAY OUT OF THE WATER.
6. TRY NOT TO HIT ANYONE.
7. IF YOU ARE TAKING TOO LONG, LET OTHERS GO AHEAD OF YOU.
8. DON'T STAND DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF OTHERS.
9. QUIET PLEASE...WHILE OTHERS ARE PREPARING.
10. DON'T TAKE EXTRA STROKES.

WELL DONE.. NOW, FLUSH THE URINAL, GO OUTSIDE, AND TEE OFF

The Washington Monument and several other buildings in the nation’s capital remained closed Wednesday morning as engineers checked for structural problems after an earthquake on Tuesday that caused little damage but shook nerves along much of the East Coast.

The unusual earthquake, centered near the tiny town of Mineral, Va., startled millions of people from Maine to Georgia and disrupted life in some of the nation’s biggest population centers.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from office buildings. Cellphone service was strangled as the quake led to disruptions in air traffic, halted trains, jammed roadways and gave some on the West Coast an opportunity to poke fun at Easterners who seemed panicked and uncertain of how to respond. In earthquake-prone areas, people usually are instructed to stay inside to avoid falling debris, but in places where earthquakes are unfamiliar — and in a post-Sept. 11 environment — few argued with evacuation commands.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck at 1:51 p.m. It preliminarily measured 5.8 and lasted 20 to 30 seconds. Survey officials reported two small aftershocks, of magnitude 2.8 and 2.2, within 90 minutes of the original jolt. Seismologists, suggesting little cause for further alarm, said the initial quake erupted from an old fault, which, unlike the San Andreas fault in California, normally produces much weaker results.

This quake was notable for its incongruity: it was one of the most powerful to hit the East Coast in decades, and yet it caused little damage. Reports of tremors came from as far north as Sudbury, Ontario, where government offices were closed, and as far south as Alabama.

Thousands of people in Midtown Manhattan were evacuated from their offices and found themselves suddenly sprung on a sunny summer afternoon. Farther downtown, police officers ordered the evacuation of City Hall, sending Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his staff scurrying out of the building.

But for all the disruptions and the fleeing of buildings, the quake was, for most people, a curious interruption before life quickly returned to normal. For some it provoked little more than amusement. “Felt a litle wobble here is Astoria, but none of my Scotch fell off the shelf,” a man who identified himself as William Schroeder posted on nytimes.com.

Others were more shaken. “I ran outdoors and found my neighbor calling a friend in Virginia who also felt the profound quake,” Bill Parks of Hummelstown, Pa., said in an e-mail. “This quake was like none I ever experienced in the East in my life and I am 76 years old.”

In Washington, the quake led to quick evacuations of the White House, the Capitol and monuments across the Mall. Some airplanes were left in a temporary hold pattern, and some were diverted to other airports. Amtrak stopped its trains. The Federal Emergency Management Agency asked the public to refrain from talking on cellphones and to use e-mail and text messages instead to relieve the congestion. The epicenter in Mineral is about 84 miles southwest of Washington, and a few miles from a nuclear power plant. Dominion Virginia Power, which owns the plant, said that its units tripped off line automatically as planned and that no damage to the plant had been reported.

Perhaps the most trauma occurred in Mineral itself. The quake stopped everything for hours. Schools closed. Coffee shops shut down. At the Food Lion, on the outskirts, managers shooed reporters away but not before one employee said: “The whole floor was going up and down. It was crazy in there.”

Ben Pirolli, 68, a co-owner of Main Street Plumbing and Electrical, said he was working in the bathroom when the quake hit.

“I was mopping the floor and the next thing you know, everything is falling in on me,” Mr. Pirolli said. “I thought the world was coming to an end.”

Geologists said that the region experiences frequent earthquakes but that they were usually so small that they were hardly noticed. This one was 3.7 miles deep, bigger than is typical, and produced a rumbling that grabbed the attention of millions of people hundreds of miles from the epicenter.

W. Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, said in an interview that the agency had spoken with emergency coordinators in states across the Atlantic Seaboard, and that so far there were no reports of injuries or major damage and no requests for federal help

The Canadian Press

CALGARY — A police chief is backing an officer who shot and killed a man armed with a screwdriver, saying the public wouldn't want to see a member of the force turn and run "like a scared rabbit."

The man, believed to be in his late 30s, was being chased by the officer on foot in a northeast Calgary neighbourhood early Thursday when he was shot in a backyard.

The 10-year veteran and member of the tactical team fired more than once when the man threatened him and then "aggressively" approached with a screwdriver in his hand, said police Chief Rick Hanson.

"Screwdrivers will kill you just as quickly as a knife," he said at a news conference.

"It's pitch dark. He's between two houses. He doesn't know where the individual went. The suspect made a conscious decision to confront the officer in a way that clearly articulated a decision to do the officer harm.

"I can't think of anybody in this city who would say the police officer should have turned on his tail and ran like a scared rabbit. The reality is these are dangerous people who commit mayhem and havoc in this city and their intention is to do harm."

Hanson said police became aware of two stolen trucks that were being driven erratically in north Calgary. There were reports they were speeding the wrong way on a major road.

There was no pursuit, but a police helicopter kept the trucks under surveillance until a spike belt was laid down. It managed to stop one of the vehicles. Two people jumped into the other truck and fled.

Hanson said two passengers, a male and female, were dropped off and ran in separate directions. The truck was eventually corralled by police vehicles and officers removed the driver with the help of a police dog and a weapon that fires rubber discs.

The backyard shooting happened while officers were searching for the couple. The woman was arrested without incident, but the policeman involved in the shooting had to make a split-second decision when it came to the male, the chief said.

Hanson said the motive behind the joyride is unclear, but he noted the size of the trucks -- Ford F-250s and F-350s.

"Those vehicles are generally stolen because they are used as weapons," Hanson said. "They are used to cause destruction. They're very difficult for police vehicles or officers to disable."

The shooting is under investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which reviews encounters involving police that result in serious injury or death.

Hanson said, as far as he is concerned, the officer acted in a responsible manner.

"I'm proud that we have officers that are out on the road arresting bad guys at 1 o'clock in the morning, especially when the bad guys are people who are putting other innocent people at risk," he said.

"So my job is to say I've reviewed the circumstances leading up to the shooting. I'm satisfied that the officer acted appropriately. I believe that the actions of the officers were what any reasonable person would expect."

The head of the Calgary Police Association said he fully supports the member as well.

"I've spoken with the officer. He's confident that he relied upon his experience and training to respond to this situation," said John Dooks.

"It's always regretful that an officer is forced into this situation where he has to use lethal force, but ... (he) knows in this situation he had no choice."

It was the second fatal police-involved shooting in about two months in Calgary.

In June, an armed man confronted officers who had gone to a home where a woman had called police for help.

Update

AL-Qa'ida's number two Atiyah abd al-Rahman has been killed in Pakistan, the US says, claiming another "tremendous" blow to the group following the death of Osama bin Laden.

News of Rahman's demise comes as the US gears up to mark the 10th anniversary of al-Qa'ida's most spectacular attack, on September 11, 2001 on landmarks in Washington and New York, which killed nearly 3000 people.

Rahman, a Libyan, was killed in the northwest tribal Waziristan area on August 22 after being heavily involved in directing operations for al-Qa'ida, a senior US official said, without divulging the circumstances of his death.

However, local officials in the region told AFP last week that a US drone strike on August 22 on a vehicle in North Waziristan killed at least four militants. It was not clear if the two incidents were connected.

The senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the death of Rahman would be deeply felt by al-Qa'ida because the group's new leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had relied on him since US Navy Seals killed bin Laden on May 2.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related Coverage

Killing a blow to terror network The Australian, 1 day ago
Battered al-Qa'ida down but not out The Australian, 2 days ago
Global reach of extremism The Australian, 2 days ago
'100 attacks' - al-Qa'ida's deadly promise Herald Sun, 10 days ago
Al-Qa'ida still growing threat: US The Australian, 19 Aug 2011

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

Bin Laden also died in Pakistan, in a sprawling house he was holed up in close to a military academy.

The death of Rahman, who had a $1-million bounty on his head and was said to be an explosives expert, represented "a tremendous loss for al-Qa'ida", the senior official said.

"The trove of materials from bin Laden's compound showed clearly that (Rahman) was deeply involved in directing al-Qa'ida's operations even before the raid," the official said.

"He had multiple responsibilities in the organisation and will be very difficult to replace."

Details about Rahman are sketchy and he is not nearly as high profile as bin Laden or Zawahiri.

According to US authorities, Rahman, who was in his late thirties, was appointed personally by bin Laden and was al-Qa'ida's emissary in Iran, recruiting and facilitating talks with other Islamic groups to operate under al-Qa'ida.

He joined bin Laden in Afghanistan as a teenager in the 1980s to fight the Soviet Union.

Rahman's death represents another success for President Barack Obama's intensified and often clandestine operations against al-Qa'ida, particularly in the northwestern tribal regions in Pakistan which Washington says is the group's lair.

In his weekly radio and Internet address today, Obama called on Americans to recreate the national unity that emerged after the September 11 attacks, and noted that "We're taking the fight to al-Qa'ida."

Another senior US official said "news of (Rahman's) demise underscores what (Defence Secretary) Leon Panetta has been saying for some time about al-Qa'ida: it's important to sustain intense pressure on this group of terrorists and thugs.

"Dialing back on al-Qa'ida leadership in Pakistan, especially while they try to regroup after Bin Laden's death, isn't the way to go. For the sake of our national security, they need to be knocked out for good," the official stressed.

The Washington Post cited unnamed officials in July as saying that evidence taken from bin Laden's compound suggested the al-Qa'ida founder was concerned about the impact drone attacks were having on his organisation when he died.

Washington has called Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region where Rahman died the global headquarters of al-Qa'ida, where Taliban and other al-Qaida-linked networks plot attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden was killed in his compound in Abbottabad in a daring raid by US special forces soldiers deep into Pakistan, and the soldiers seized large amounts of intelligence about the group's operations.

In July, Panetta said that the "strategic defeat" of al-Qa'ida was "within reach" and that 10-20 key operatives had been targeted in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and north Africa.

AFP

August 7th 2011 Taliban Shoot Down U.S. military helicopter

Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite Navy SEALs unit that killed Osama bin Laden, as well as seven Afghan commandos, U.S. officials said Saturday. It was the deadliest single loss for American forces in the decade-old war.

The downing was a stinging blow to the lauded, tight-knit SEAL Team 6, months after its crowning achievement. It was also a heavy setback for the U.S.-led coalition as it begins to draw down thousands of combat troops fighting what has become an increasingly costly and unpopular war.

None of the 22 SEAL personnel killed in the crash were part of the team that killed bin Laden in a May raid in Pakistan, but they belonged to the same unit. Their deployment in the raid in which the helicopter crashed would suggest that the target was a high-ranking insurgent figure.

Special operations forces, including the SEALs and others, have been at the forefront in the stepped up strategy of taking out key insurgent leaders in targeted raids, and they will be relied on even more as regular troops pull out. Source

U.S. Says it Killed Taliban Behind Helicopter Attack

By JULIAN E. BARNES And DION NISSENBAUM

U.S. forces killed the Taliban fighters responsible for shooting down a CH-47 Chinook and killing 30 American service members, the top international commander in Afghanistan announced Wednesday.

An airstrike involving F-16 fighter planes killed multiple militants around midnight Monday, said Gen. John Allen, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force.

In a statement, ISAF officials said the strike occurred early Tuesday and killed both Mullah Mohibullah, a Taliban leader, as well as the insurgent believed to have fired the shot that brought down the Chinook carrying a team of Navy SEALs, other American service members and seven Afghans.

The attack on the Chinook was the worst single incident in a decade of war. But Gen. Allen said the operation that began Friday night was no different from dozens of other raids carried out every night in Afghanistan.

Gen. Allen said the slain service members had been dispatched in the Chinook as a quick-reaction force to pursue Taliban fighters trying to escape as a ground force moved in on the original objective. "There were elements that were escaping, and we committed a force to contain them," Gen. Allen said.

The original ground force was sent in to the Tangi valley to pursue a high-value Taliban leader who ran a network of insurgents. Gen. Allen said that that Taliban leader still hadn't been captured. "We will continue to pursue him," he said.

The SEALs killed in the Chinook's downing were from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as SEAL Team Six, one of the two most elite commando units. But Gen. Allen defended the use of the team for the weekend mission and said using the team to pursue any militants who tried to escape was always part of the original mission.

Gen. Allen said an investigation into the downing of the Chinook, a relatively slow-moving aircraft, had begun. But he said the CH-47 had been used without incident in countless raids over the course of the Afghan war, and he didn't believe it was a mistake to use the aircraft in the operation.

The helicopter was fired on by insurgents armed with assault rifles as it approached its objective, but military officials still believe it was brought down by a rocket-propelled-grenade strike.

After the attack on the Chinook, the military continued to track the insurgents responsible, waiting for an opportunity to strike at them.

"We tracked them and dealt with them in a kinetic strike," Gen. Allen said.

"Well, whatcha' gonna do about it?" he says, menacingly, as I burst into tears.
"Come on, man," the biker says, "I didn't think you'd CRY. I can`t stand to see a man crying."

"This is the worst day of my life," I say. "I'm a complete failure.