US Drone Strike Kills 21 in North Waziristan
Six Missiles Fired at House in Datta Khel
At least 21 people were killed today and three others wounded when US drones attacked a house in Datta Khel, North Waziristan Agency today. The strike destroyed the home, with six missiles being fired at it.
Officials were quick to label everyone slain as “suspects” and said that four of the people in the house were believed to be “foreigners.” The strike sparked panic across the area, and drones are reportedly still looming overhead. As usual none of the victims have been named.
It is the first strike since Pakistan reopened the border to occupied Afghanistan earlier this week, and the deadliest single attack in months. The border was closed in November to protest US attacks on Pakistani military bases, which killed 24 soldiers. It reopened after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally agreed to apologize for the killings.
US drone strikes against Pakistan have been hugely controversial, and the Pakistani parliament has demanded their end, calling on the cabinet to condition reopening the border on the end of the strikes. Despite this call, the border remains open.
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jorgespbr
July 6th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and who else?! are obama´s lab to drone wars, period.
Andron
July 6th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Nothing will change . The blatant disreguard of human life and the rule of law will continue UNTIL Pakistan shoots down a couple of drones.
FORCE is the only argument that is understood by the terrorists waging the so called "War on terror" by unleasing terror on innocent civilians and killing people without a trial OR proof of ANY crime being committed by them.
THIS IS PLAIN AND SIMPLE STATE SANCTIONED MURDER.
Andron
July 6th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
I thought the UN Human rights commission was investigating drone attacks????
Opps sorry I forgot that the instigators of these attacks are above the law.
rybo1
July 6th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
There are lots of brutal governments around the world, But, the United States is the leader of the pack.
RParker
July 6th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
It would be fun to find out who some of the operators of these drones are sitting at the safety of a video-game console at a military base 10,000 miles away from where these cowards murder people and shove their joysticks where the sun don't shine.
persnipoles
July 7th, 2012 at 1:06 am
That they call 'em 'suspects' rather than 'militants' is a good sign (part of a deal?): they're admitting they weren't really cackling and wearing pointy hats while stirring their cauldron —as far as they know. But remember that they're all combatants ~"unless explicit intelligence proves their innocence posthumously" -provided that the US has already killed them.
Rather than complaining about it, we should all be asking ourselves that most profound and troubling of questions: will there be explicit intelligence to prove my innocence posthumous—er, wait… …better question, now that it's me: will anyone give a damn about proving me a non-combatant posthumously? And will (s)he try reeeeeeeaallly hard? What would success look like in that case, and will anyone notice? And will I be 'grateful?'
John Ellis
July 7th, 2012 at 2:09 am
As a rule men do not live alone in a “home,” especially in Afghanistan where several generations live together in one “home,” with the norm being that women and children outnumber the men. So, this must be a preemptive strike to reduce the number of next generation terrorists that our brutal imperialism can’t help but create, what with making babies into body parts being the fashionable thing among empire builders.
Sopcop
July 7th, 2012 at 6:00 am
If I was a Pakistani I don't know who I would hate more, the US government or my own! You know the Pakistani Gov. has a new or continuing back room room deal with the US that allows these strikes. And they come off like their so upset by them. What a joke!
peter vojta
July 7th, 2012 at 6:29 am
Humanitarien bombing of innocent people, preemptive killing, preemptive assacinations, suspected terrorists etc …..unbelievable arogance and sadism.
Could anybody for the sake of Humanity use these tactics against people like Hitlery and other Evils???
ML3
July 7th, 2012 at 10:31 am
10 and a half years of FAIL
the US cannot win nor can they go home either. Intelligent warmongering by Babyboomers who avoided service like the plague.
ML3
July 7th, 2012 at 10:31 am
SURELY they are all terrorists, right?
That's the thing that bugs me about these drones. Worse than having armor-plated soldiers from hundreds or thousands of feet up bravely bombing medieval enemies in sandals and rusty AK-47s to smithereens, you have more modern "heroes" tens of thousands of miles away playing with dangerous flying toys killing indiscriminately.
izazahmed
July 7th, 2012 at 10:52 am
We had the most tragic days of humanity under the medieval inquisition judges of Europe who not only on their mere suspicion of someone being against church killed millions but also simply on suspicion that some one practice witchcraft killed about 6 million people in a few centuries.But those judges had at least the sense that they should establish courts and bring their victims.Now the modern days ‘witches’ whom the modern day super powers named as’ terrorists’ were not even produced to the modern courts.Mr.Bush and now Obama’s team of judges not even take the services of the medieval torture techniques which are still present in the European Museums at least to satisfy one’s own guilty conscious by forcing their victim confess or make some positive signs of their crimes which they most probably never did.They rather used the most modern scientific minds’ contribution of the killing machines, the drones to kill their random innocent victims [Whose crimes were not proved] without giving them the chance of remembering God, let alone the chance which till a few years ago most of the innocent victims of oppressors could have i.e. to curse those evil minded people-curse all the evils in this world..
zioctopus
July 7th, 2012 at 11:43 am
the bottom line is that only about 1% of Americans even care about this stuff.
Americans are the most ignorant people on earth.
W_ThePoster
July 7th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Sure sounds like Ms Clinton put the fix in, and part of the deal was permission to resume his stuff. God only knows what the threat was! Isn't this rather amazing, given the stern hostility of the Pak men only days ago?
Lonenut
July 8th, 2012 at 9:02 am
Its alot like a video game/not. Drones open a whole new area/era. Its military Madness circa Now. Yes the US is the biggest Bully on the block, creating more Bullies and then tearing them down. Its all about the bucks with these Bastards that are in control. Read Family of Secrets for the Bush/kennedy assassination entanglement.
Ghulam Sarwar Janjua
July 8th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
We pray to ALLAH to destroy ALL those who are killing or planning to kill the Innocent.
Ghulam Sarwar Janjua
July 8th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Yes please.
frank l. grossmann
July 9th, 2012 at 4:04 am
From an accountant's point of view, this works out at slightly over US $ 3,000 per bad person. Not counting fuel and flight time for the helicopters/crew, etc. I wonder, me, if this could be done cheaper by troops shooting bullets? Of course, if I owned shares in a missile company, I would go for the profit option.
John Ellis
July 9th, 2012 at 5:22 am
FICTION
“Americans are the most ignorant people on earth.”
FACT
The most wealthy and war-hawk voting majority the world has ever known, and their innocently ignorant?
How about we plug knowledgably greedy into the equation and see how that fits?