Long something quietly tolerated by the Pakistani government and ignored by the international community, the Obama Administration’s repeated escalation of drone strikes into Pakistan’s tribal areas has gotten too big to ignore, with six separate strikes in the first 14 days of the new year killing scores of people.
The attacks and perhaps worse, the ever present drones flying overheard across North Waziristan threatening further attacks are sewing increasing resentment among tribesmen, even as the massive civilian toll of the strikes is sparking outcry across Pakistan and increasingly, abroad.
Even the United Nations seems willing to get involved, with UN human rights investigator Philip Alston that the US needed to show more transparency with the strikes, particularly as the intensity of the strikes increases.
“When we were dealing with isolated cases I raised it with the United States,” Alston noted, “not that it is systematically using drones, it is becoming increasingly important to get that clarification.”
In 2009 the CIA launched 44 strikes into North and South Waziristan, but managed to kill no more than a handful of notable militants. And while the Pakistani government initially labeled virtually everyone slain as a “suspect,” they are increasingly conceding that there is no evidence to back up that suspicion, and that around 700 people, the vast, vast majority of the victims, were likely innocent civilians.
The extralegal killings of hundreds of people without any accountability or in many cases even admission of responsibility is not only harming American credibility with the Pakistani people, it is even straining relations with the Pakistani government, which was willing to quietly support the strikes before the tolls started to soar. Now even they are growing alarmed at the rate with which American missiles are flying into their territory.
It's like they *want* to create more instability. The US keeps saying they want to see a stable Pakistan, but their actions belie their words. Giving support to a military dictator, and increasing drone attacks certainly don't help with stability.
What do they(the US Government) hope to accomplish with this?
Is this how a Nobel Peace Prize recipient behaves?
They are destabilizing Pakistan, a country with Nuclear weapons. If those weapons were to go "missing" many disasters could await the World as a result.
it is Obamas private Mercenary Army called Blackwater, now called XE that is working with the CIA to provoke an all out War with Pakistan. i challenge all USA Soldiers to arrest any private Mercenaries and throw them into a military Prison. Obama thinks he can wash his Hands in innocence because Contractors are doing the dirty work.
Don't worry about the UN, the US has a veto. And the Pakistani nukes may just be the end game, to get them and remove them.
Who can fathom the rational for this Israeli stratagem.. Whether it's smart politicians and stupid bombs or smart bombs and stupid politicians… It is still the Israeli way of killing Muslims with no trial, no judge, jurga or whatever. In the eyes of the Afghans, it is Infidel cowards using Israeli snuff bombs. What happened to hearts and minds and the "protect the people" that was supposed to be the new way forward… I'm beginning to wonder if this drone plan will werk, or will there end up being a "Boxer rebellion" type of situation with "No Leaders" but an unending series of bombing and attacks and perhaps the enmity of most the 1.4 billion Muslims….. ………….Where is Geo1671
If you look at our strategy for global hegemony, it mirrors the Israeli strategy of total domination of the "Land Between Two Rivers" only on a global instead of a regional basis.
If I and my comments have been censored from this forum, then just say so. Don't play cute little games. you have email address. At least have the courtesy to state your censorship policies.
Dedreckoning
It is very easy for the United States government to kill people with their drones of death. In the view of goverment officials there is no such thing as murdering innocent men, women, and children especially when they come from a poor country that is majority Muslim. To government officials the only reality is collateral damage. The cavalier manner in which the deaths of innocent human lives is dismissed, is just one other reason they hate us, and why Americans are in constant danger of retaliatory terrorist attacks.
Absolutely true and very sad. Hopefully for peace and safety a consciousness will develop against drone attacks and imperialism in general. Obama needs to listen to the antiwar movements around the country!
Drones only work against people with no air force. Pakistan could easily send up a jet fighter and shoot them all down. They complain a lot, but they willingly allow it.
Sure, Pakistan could shoot down the drones. Pakistan is known to have some very good pilots. The neo-cons who dictate American foreign policy would probably love to see Pakistan do that, because it might start a war between Pakistan and the U.S. The American criminal mass murder in Af-Pak is probably aimed at taking over Pakistan, which is an Islamic country that has never recognized Israel.