Envoy: Afghan Riots Not Sign of Anti-Americanism
Ambassador Ronald Neumann addresses a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Aug. 18, 2005. Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Deadly riots sparked by a U.S. military truck crash this week are not a sign of anti-Americanism in Afghanistan, the U.S. ambassador in Kabul says.
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Ambassador Ronald Neumann compares the insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"I do not see any groundswell of anti-Americanism or of any desire that we leave," Ambassador Ronald Neumann says in an interview.
The U.S. military says a large truck, part of a convoy on the outskirts of Kabul, plowed into a line of cars after its brakes failed, killing up to five Afghans.
The Afghan parliament on Tuesday demanded prosecution of U.S. soldiers involved in the truck accident.
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American soldiers in Afghanistan are not subject to Afghan law, Neumann said. "But should the investigation reveal some wrongdoing, I'm sure that the military would follow up on its own."
A U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday that American soldiers used their guns in self-defense after rioting Afghans opened fire during a melee that broke out after the crash.
President Bush spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and pledged a full investigation into Kabul's worst unrest since the Taliban's downfall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.