Just one day after the London Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) released a report claiming 168 children and “at least 385 civilians” were killed in US drone strikes against Pakistan, anonymous US officials are coming forth to angrily condemn the report. One even essentially accuses a lawyer representing families whose relatives were killed in drone strikes a shill for terrorists.
“One of the loudest voices claiming all these civilian casualties is a Pakistani lawyer who’s pushing a lawsuit to stop operations against some of the most dangerous terrorists on the planet,” an anonymous official told AFP. “His publicity is designed to put targets on the backs of Americans serving in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His agenda is crystal clear.”
The report, which relied entirely on media coverage of the drone strikes, was slammed as “way off the mark” by US officials, who insisted that while they were certain the figures were wrong they would not release figures of their own.
Relying on the preliminary media reports may be unreliable, but it isn’t clear that they are unreliable in the way officials are trying to spin it. Rather the in depth studies of the strikes show that while a large number of the slain are dismissed as “militant suspects” very few confirmed militants are actually killed.
The BIJ report’s figures are telling, in that children are a large portion of the civilians. Women represent virtually all of the rest. Anyone who is male and not a child is automatically listed as a “slain militant” in most reports, because the Pakistani government’s officials term anyone slain a “suspect” on the grounds that if they weren’t suspected they wouldn’t have been attacked.
Indeed, in 2009 alone the numbers point to 700 civilians killed, and even more attacks in 2010, the figure for the entire drone war since 2004 almost certainly is in the thousands, not the hundreds.
If the report relied exclusively on corporate media accounts, then, the real toll should be at least 10 times what is stated in the report. Heavens knows that the media mind-numbingly hums "insurgents" "Al Qaeda" "Taliban" "militants" each and every single time without mentioning the innocent civilians who are almost exclusively slaughtered in these massacres.
we're a country run by blood-drenched mass murdering compulsively lying scum.
even a sliver of truth to these criminals is like daylight to a vampire.
Maybe one should catapult 385 donor packs against the façade of the White House.
Nah, that would just stress out the Magic Obama's cleaning ladies.
Harumph, harumph, outrage, harumph! How dare you suggest that the US government has been anything less than perfect. Yea of course the CIA don't actually let us know who they're killing and why. Yea of course the CIA are totally unaccountable to congress. Yea of course no one in the government outside the CIA has any actual oversight of the drone assassinations but we trust our brave CIA. How dare anyone suggest that they would be fallible like any humans! Outrage! Patriotism! harumph, harumph!
Who are these government voices that won't be identified and verified? To start with, the USA supposedly agrees with the UN that the incursion of one foreign power into the lands of another (without invitation) is a violation of their sovereignty. If not, we are back to the dark ages where "might is always right". The Pakistani's would do well to demand a complete stop to these actions and aim their atomic bombs at the bases of the violators. Oh yes, we are bribing Pakistan with billions of dollars so that they will find it very difficult not to claim their sovereignty. Just like we do with Egypt and Jordan. But the American violations are unacceptable. And I'm sure that you will find some annonymous government spokepersons who will say that these incursion are LEGAL.
Obama will be the next stay-at-home-ex-president for not being arrested for war crimes. Remember Bush was to speak to rich Jews in Geneva but had to cancel in order to avoid being arrested as the war criminal he is.
I remember that! That was so funny and good for Switzerland for threatening to arrest Bush if he came over there.
Same in London, where the mayor has an arrest order waiting for him.
So exactly how many civilians killed by drone strikes amounts to an acceptable number of casualties? How many murders is the USG prepared to admit to?
Well, that would depend. See, if the event took place in the US and was perpetrated by a select person of the brown/Mooslem persuasion, one casualty would equate to a war declaration by that country. On the other hand, if the US slaughters over 1.4 million of the civilian population in a foreign country, that equates to "spreading democracy" or "collateral damage" – In the US like in Israel, the truth is always relative and in the eye of the beholder.
None. You don't understand John, when THEY do it it's murder. When WE do it it's different. You know, because we're good and all.
And when the indigenous civilians on these foreign countries decide to retaliate for what we've done to them, in their country, the "anonymous US officials" are going to say, anonymously of course, that they didn't see it coming – could never have conceived that those people would do something like that to us – to us!!! The Mighty and Righteous US!!!
scumbags.
An anonymous US official told AFP. “His publicity is designed to put targets on the backs of Americans serving in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His agenda is crystal clear.”
Sorry pal, Raymond Davis and Company have already taken care of that–
Are they supposed to let you murder there entire country as well as invading there sovernty.O forgot your America always right even when your always wrong.