"..(and the use of the spelling 'arse' pretty much jibes with other cultural/linguistic hints to tell us where most of these 'guest' postings are from..) "

It doesn't actually - it just indicates that the poster is from somewhere where they don't use the American spelling. Unless "where" in this context means the rest of the world outside the USA, which is rather a big where.

These thing always seem to start with denials anything happened, and then with suggestions that it was the other guys fault and so forth. And then gradually the truth leaks out. Not just Americans - the English do it, the Israelis do it. No doubt all kinds of terrorist organisations do it as well, except we don't get to hear the lying press statements from them, and if we do they don't get treated as anything other than lying propaganda.

One thing that is different about this - there isn't any evidence of any current significant armed opposition in Afghanistan, that makes it a bit different from some of the other situations where this kind of tragedy happens. It was supposed to be a liberating invasion, and the enemy have been defeated, or moved off to other parts of the world.

It's not frightened shell shocked soldiers firing in a panic, or breaking under the stress and turning into psychotic killers. It's more a question of bored fliers playing war games. Have any American air crew actually been killed by any kind of enemy on this war?