![]() The problems began in 2007 when ArmorGroup, a private security company working on a Pentagon subcontract, hired two local warlords on the U.S. The records also reveal that the Defense Department has for years downplayed or denied the fatal mistakes surrounding the tragedy. Together, the records and interviews tell the story of a disaster that was months in the making as military and company officials ignored warnings about the men they had hired to provide intelligence and security. MORE: How we reported the deadly airstrike: A reporter's notebook from Afghanistan In addition, a reporter traveled to western Afghanistan to interview government officials, investigators, first responders, witnesses and the villagers who survived. ![]() A young man collapsed in grief by a pile of mud bricks where his home once stood – where his wife and four children had been sleeping TODAY also obtained Afghan government records, evidence collected by humanitarian groups, including the Red Cross, and a confidential United Nations investigation into the incident. A boy clutching a torn rug walked in a daze on top of the ruins. Villagers picked through the rubble of what had been an entire neighborhood, looking for remains to wrap in white linens for burial. Some were still in their pajamas, their hands inked with henna tattoos from the party preparations the night before. He dug graves deep enough to fit mothers with children, or children with children. There were too many dead and not enough shovels, so a local politician brought in heavy machinery from a nearby construction site. We are republishing our investigation from last year about a deadly airstrike - one of many - that contributed to where we are today.ĪZIZABAD, Afghanistan – Once the Americans left, the survivors started digging. Before exiting Afghanistan, the American government did not fully appreciate the power of the Taliban, how quickly the government would fall or the rift between Afghans and the U.S.
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