US airstrikes against the town of Harem, in the Idlib Province of Syria, killed a number of civilians, including at least four children, locals have confirmed. Images of slain children were released via social media.
The Pentagon confirmed the strikes in the area, insisting they were targeting “Khorasan,” which is to say Syria’s Jabhat al-Nusra faction, as Khorasan is a term the US invented to create a distinction other rebels say doesn’t exist.
The number of civilians killed in US airstrikes, particularly in Syria, have grown disturbingly high in recent weeks, though officials continue to refuse to confirm or deny any of the deaths, and would only say that the war is “extremely complex” and that there are risks of civilian deaths.
Early in the air war, the Pentagon announced that its existing rules against targeting areas populated by civilians do not apply in Iraq and Syria, though they have insisted they are taking unspecified measures to limit the number of civilians they killed. Clearly, these measures are not working.
Click here to see the social media image. WARNING: this image is extremely graphic.
Gen. Dempsey would like the US to follow Israel's example of care and concern for the civilians in Gaza. So these four deaths will be justified as:
a. An act of self-defense
b. Brought on themselves by being born or living in Syria
c. Brought on themselves because their parents voted for Assad.
or if all else fails:
d. Terrorists were using them as human shields.
RIC, I would also add the following:
e. OOPS!
Oboomer used that after one of his drone strikes in Yemen (murdered)
a bus filled with school children.
Air war on deep targets, of operational or strategic nature, always kills civilians. Those who decide to do such war know that, and decide to do it anyway. Of course they try to avoid responsibility for what they decided to do.
In law it is called "disregard." One knows it will happen, and just does it anyway.
The same is not true of most tactical use of air power, which goes at forces themselves where one does not normally find non-combatants mixed in. That is what we originally said we'd do — air attacks on forces. It is not what we are doing, just as we said one thing and did another in Libya.
Hearts and minds, kiddies, hearts and minds…
Baby killer military — scumbags of scumbags
Kid killers, born and bred in an Empire without a moral conscience, surely our military are scumbags more criminal and corrupt then any scumbag that ever walked the earth.
A remedy for perpetual war is "A Legal Framework for Just Military Action".
https://www.facebook.com/JusticePartyColorado/pho…
From the Justice Party National Platform:
"The Justice Party is concerned far less about party affiliations than it is with the need to join together to rid our government of the corruption, inclination toward empire-building, and amassing of imperial presidential powers, all of which have resulted in immense injustice—economically, socially, and environmentally—throughout our nation and our world."
http://www.justicepartyusa.org/platform
To — Mark Thomason
Excellent comment, for the exceptionalism mentality that we may kill others just to keep ourselves alive, that we may kill children so that terrorists don’t kill us, surely this makes us inhuman and not fit to be part of a civilized society.
It so reminds me of that classic story that we had to read in high school, where a wedding party went on a sleigh ride whereupon a pack of vicious wolves started to bite at the horses legs. So, one by one the wedding party was thrown to the wolves until only the bride and groom were left, then when into town came the sleigh only the groom was left.
To — JusticePartyCO
Our society without the moral fabric needed to have a guilty conscience, yet your going to bring about a just morality by government and the deadly force of government? Surely, a fake morality and a dead conscience is the blind alley you propose.
For perfect morality forbids all force, actually the only thing that can ever overcome deadly force.
A legal framework for just military action is necessary to be able to stop a genocide or other wanton atrocity.
The correct legal framework for just military action provides real and powerful leverage to break the stranglehold of the military-industrial complex.
To — JusticePartyCO
Empire USA is most criminal in the way it uses brutal imperialism, such as wars of aggression, to enable dictators to terrorize their laboring-class into fearful submission.
Empire USA is a law unto itself, surely any law you could create would only enable it to be more brutal and imperial.
Empire USA enables Israel to be a dictator over Palestine and to have nukes unlimited, but because Iran desires to have nuclear electric plants, economy destroying sanctions must Iran suffer.