The parents of an upstate GI who was killed in an Afghanistan ambush say the current, strict combat rules endanger the lives of GIs and help the Taliban.
“The rules of engagement have put our son at risk and everyone that’s over there,” Bill Osborn, father of Spc. Benjamin Osborn of the 101st Airborne Division, told WNYT-TV in Albany.
“They are laughing at us. The Taliban is laughing at us,” said mom Beverly Osborn.
The 27-year-old Osborn, from Lake George, was shot as he manned a heavy gun in Konar, in northeastern Afghanistan on June 15.
He managed to get off 10 shots at the enemy before he died — but his parents want to know if the rules of engagement cost him his life.
“They were ambushed. They were under attack, and they couldn’t fire until ordered to do so,” said Bill Osborn.
Their son, who married five months ago, was buried Thursday at Saratoga National Cemetery.
“Ben said that the tactics were wrong,” Beverly Osborn said. “There’s one long road to bring supplies in. The Taliban’s up there shooting down at them, and they have to shoot up.”