Tag: Pakistan

168 Children Murdered By US Drones

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) last month began to publish their findings in a study of the U.S. drone war in Pakistan. The study found that much higher rates of civilian casualties had resulted from the U.S. drone war than had been admitted by the government or than had been reported in the press.

As I blogged about at the time, just prior to the study’s publication, high level Obama administration officials actually dared to say publicly that the drone attacks had killed zero civilians. The substantiated findings of the study made foolish liars out of the Obama administration. To boot, there was also Noor Behram, who had been on the ground in Pakistan tallying the dead, estimating that “for every 10 to 15 people killed, maybe they get one militant.”

TBIJ has now come out with news that an estimated 168 innocent children have been killed in the strikes.

I’m waiting with bated breath for the public outcry in America, and the subsequent criminal investigation of those in the highest reaches of our government. And by that I mean the systematic disregard for the murder of “others” and total impunity for the criminals in charge.

Dubya was right??

From film-maker Oliver Stone’s interview with former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, we discover:

Oliver Stone: "Were there any eye-to-eye moments with President Bush that day, that night?"

Nestor Kirchner: "…I said that a solution to the problems right now, I told Bush, is a Marshall Plan. …He said the best way to revitalize the economy is war and that the United States has grown stronger with war."

Stone: "War. He said that?"

Kirchner: "He said that. Those were his exact words."

Stone: "Was he suggesting that South America go to war?"

Kirchner: "Well, he was talking about the United States. …All of the economic growth of the United States has been encouraged by the various wars. He said it very clearly. –Fmr. Argentine President Kirchner Dies of Heart Attack, Democracy Now!, Oct. 28, 2010

So, WAS Dubya right?

"War" [1] is indeed a key part of the U.S. economy. Some folks call this "military keynesianism."

Consider: Despite one of the most defensible geographic situations on earth — unless you fear the Canadians — the U.S. Government spends more on "defense" than almost the rest of the world combined. AND, not surprisingly, U.S.A. is the biggest arms merchant in the world.

So, Mr. Bush was exactly right.

If you’re a U.S. Citizen, approximately 43% of your income taxes go to pay for wars, past and present. And that’s before Uncle Sam is forced, kicking and screaming, into officially admitting PTSD is nearly universal in combat veterans, lasts a lifetime, and is expensive to treat. According to former IMF Chief Economist and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, the two current "wars" will eventually cost U.S. taxpayers between four and six trillion dollars. That’s trillion. With a "T."

And don’t fret about the militaryindustrial budget. While Mr. Obama isn’t yet responsible for killing as many men, women and children as Mr. Bush — and hasn’t spent as much doing so, give him a chance — he’s not even two years into his presidency and he’s already sent at least 60,000 new U.S. troops into Afghanistan and has plans to escalate the U.S. presence in Pakistan, and the largely ignoredU.S. presence in Yemen too.

With these kinds of numbers — that 43% of your income tax spent for “wars” for example — maybe a bit of money invested in antiwar.com to stop them might be a good investment, not only for you, but for your kids, grand kids and the yet unborn. What do you say?

Notes:

[1] The U.S. Government hasn’t been at war according to its Constitution since the end of World War II. That would require the U.S. House of Representatives to vote for war, which it hasn’t done. This means the so-called "wars" — the Korean "War," the Vietnam "War," The Iraq "Wars," the "War" in Afghanistan, etc. — must be something else. Or, since they insist on calling them "wars" anyway, unconstitutional. But as George W. Bush is reported to have claimed, "The constitution is just a damned piece of paper." So, who cares? return

OOPS! Again.

…allegedly "hacked" software, in the case of the CIA, is now being used to guide killer drones to their targets, according to IISI’s legal pleadings, despite the fact that the modified software doesn’t function properly… –CIA Drone-Code Scandal Now Has A Big Blue Hue

Iraq Troop Deaths Under Obama Reach The Century Mark

The number of U.S. troops who have died while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom since President Obama’s inauguration has now reached 100. This figure includes both combat and non-combat deaths that occurred since January 20. A few of the deaths were of servicemembers who died of injuries received before the inauguration but did not pass away until afterwards. Three U.S. soldiers who were killed in a Katyusha rocket attack last night were the latest reported casualties.

President Obama ran a campaign that promised Americans an end to the war in Iraq. Many were hoping for an  immediate resolution in January. Their disappointment in the president’s slow withdrawal and change of focus to Afghanistan and Pakistan is eclipsed only by those who are directly serving in the war theater. According to army officials, the suicide rate among Iraq and Afghanistan servicemembers is higher than last year and increasing. Indeed, of the 100 dead, only 32 were reported as combat incidents.

It would not be the first time that President Obama ran on an anti-war platform and then tempered his opposition upon winning office. Some anti-war democrats, including the son of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, complained two years ago that then-Senator Obama’s opposition to war faded after the election. At that time, Jim Ginsberg said to the New York Times, “some of [Obama’s] actions and speeches once he got in the Senate did not match his [pre-election] rhetoric.” By the time, Sen. Obama returned to the campaign circuit, his tune changed again. One can only hope he’ll actually start listening to the music before more Americans lose
their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama’s War Crimes in Pakistan

So far the empire’s new war in Pakistan has accomplished, well… nothing good.

They aren’t even pretending to hunt for bin Laden and Zawahiri as part of the excuse for demanding the Pakistani army invade the North-Western territories of the country, so far they have completely failed to find the “Taliban” leaders they claim to be trying to get, but instead have succeeded only in created a living nightmare for over 3 million refugees and counting.

At least it won’t be hard to find excuses for the next intervention…