On Oct. 15, 2001, a group of children played in the streets of Kandahar, Afghanistan, kicking and chasing a gourd down the street. Their game stopped when a piece of shrapnel from an American bomb tore through one child’s head.

Marc Herold, associate professor of economics, international relations and women’s studies at the University of New Hampshire, spoke Wednesday night on “Collateral Damage: Civilians and the Air War in Afghanistan,” citing the story of the playing children in an attempt to put a human face on the recent civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

“I wish that I could bring you all a happier message,” Herold said. “This is a grim topic and a difficult one.”

Herold received national attention when he issued a study earlier this year stating more than 3,000 Afghan people died as a result of U.S. bombing.

He began gathering data on civilian casualties Oct. 7, searching newspapers, news agencies and first-hand accounts for evidence.

Herold said the number of casualties is not common knowledge because it doesn’t benefit the United States and NATO.

“If I were talking about those killed by Mr. Milosovic, I’d get front page,” Herold said. “I’m lucky if I get page 32. We have a situation of `worthy bodies’ and `unworthy bodies.’ “

Herold invoked George Orwell when discussing the ramifications of the term “collateral damage,” calling it “Orwellian newspeak at its very best.”

“It takes away the concrete humanness of a person,” Herold said. “Human rights are distinguished from collateral damage.”

Targeting errors or equipment are not the reason behind civilian casualties in Afghanistan, it is rather the deployment of “extremely destructive bombs on civilian areas,” Herold said.

He examined the blast range of several bombs used by the United States in Afghanistan, using information provided by Boeing. It showed that a commonly used bomb, the Mark 84 2000, has a lethal blast range of 34 meters, or 110 feet.

“What happens if it’s off by 10 or 15 meters in an urban area or a small village?” Herold said.

During one stage of the United States’ attack on Afghanistan, he said, the military was instructed to bomb anything that moved on the roads and highways of Afghanistan.

“According to a UN study, in just two days U.S. planes destroyed 260 trucks and 210 cars in the highways of southern Afghanistan,” Herold said.

Karina Zidon, senior in linguistics, has attended several lectures on terrorism and the war in Afghanistan. She came to Herold’s speech after reading about his civilian casualty reports.

“It’s good to have non-mainstream media, and I’m glad to see that there is still interest in the war in Afghanistan despite the time that has passed,” Zidon said.

Herold came to Iowa State as part of the Institute on World Affairs “What is Terrorism?” lectures series.