The confirmation hearings for CIA Director John Brennan put something of a damper on the drone strike program, at least with respect to Pakistan, and also put the practices of the global assassination program under a brief magnifying glass. Only two Pakistan strikes were reported during the month of February, and the US went to the unusual length of disavowing those attacks.
With the filibuster over and Brennan in place, a new drone strike was reported today, hitting North Waziristan and killing two totally unidentified people who were said to be traveling on “horseback.”
Local officials confirmed the strike, as did a Pakistani Taliban spokesman, though neither suggested that they had any idea of the identities of the slain. The US has not commented, which is business as usual for such attacks.
The Pakistani government has been increasingly critical of the attacks as national elections draw closers. The killings have been widely unpopular across Pakistan, sparking anti-US protests and anger at the government, which they suspect is secretly supporting the US in the endeavor.
Medal for a Crime
by michael hall
Your spun a lie as a patriotic shield so that you'll kill more easily without guilt or remorse
and it doesn't matter if your team is russian,german or american
serve to eradicate any at the order of others who own you…for a flag, for a buck, for 'legal' robbery
consequently for if you do your killing well your ceremonially given a medal for committing a crime
So then they ship you to a land you've never heard of
to terrorize families who've never done harm to you or yours
but they tell you must 'fight for your country or your country will die'
they tell you God is on your side…
But what God sends his own children to slaughter his own children
when we are commanded not to kill?
what God sanctions torture to be cruel
when, we are demanded of to follow the golden rule?
Where is the God who would strafe a village
when collaterally or otherwise children are killed by your own violence
what God i dare you to stain who would profane his name by such nefarious action?
What religion tells any of us to kill for greed and selfishness?
You join a gang of killers who are dogmatically worshiped beyond reproach
your brainwashed into longing to murder with mob-lust by whoever gives you a command
your absolved of conscience and guilt by whatever you do in your countries name, what gall
then when your tour is over having cashed in for your services, you might even get a shiny medal
But they never told you about when you go home
horror folded with military precision within your duffel bag
they bequeathed you a soldiers heart that never misses a beat
the moral injury that eats at your soul every night and day
at the VA they tell you be a good soldier and just go away
You stare at the medal they pompously gave you for hours and hours days upon days
yet once again, you take it to the bathroom traumatized & obsessed, you scrub to wipe away
to wash the innocent blood off your radiant medal but it never washes away…
and your red hands are just one pair of many many misplaced
The Silver Drone with Coca-Cola Cluster
by michael hall
What audacity it must take to set yourself apart from those who serve in the pressure cooker
for a kid gangsta of capitalism to sip a cold coke tightly clasped
while the other hand is stroking a joystick & with just gentle pressure
8000 miles away human beings who have never done his or hers any harm are now droned into bugsplat
What exceptional bravery this act of aggressive violence must trigger
for s/he might suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome or bear a blister on the finger
with nerves of steel ne'er to complain for lives are at stake so s/he carries on & pushes the button of terror
careful, what if the soda spilled thereby rendering the keyboard useless? Oh the horror!
To wreak out death upon terrorists disguised as sheep-herding children, ah the discerning bravery
to slaughter dangerous pregnant women at a bridal shower, what pluck & heroism
to kill marauding medics & first-responders daring to help the wounded from your earlier kill, irreproachable daring
such gallantry and fearlessness one must exhibit to slaughter mourners at a funeral procession
So to show recognition to the brave souls who kill at command at the press of a knob 1/2 a world yonder a distinguished 'warfare' medal of honor has been created to award those who have no honor
announced with grandiose fanfare & full flags a' flapping just the other day by war criminal DS Panetta
this will outrank the bronze star, the purple heart & what a triumph is that america?
Such a propaganda coup d'état by the bureaucrats in subterranean dusty think tanks deem
spun a wonderful way to legitimize a most immoral & illegal act that defines odium
as they flim-flammed & came up with this 'combat' decoration for a most despicable accomplishment
still i wonder what lucky american school kid will be the first to touch one or to toss it down a toilet
Back at home in the united states of mordor vat is known now as da faterland
a great cackle of cheering among thunderous applause droned at every school, church & walmart throughout the homeland
to praise & pay tribute to those daring war-idols who've earned such a distinguished medal confer
the much coveted and respected; 'Silver Drone with Coca-Cola Cluster'
For who else should earn by total disregard to personal safety with such displays of video gallantry & virtual valor won
nobody else could deserve such a high tribute & renowned award squealed Leon Panetta from atop a nefarious pile of splattered blood & bleached broken bones swept under the rug by the embedded media & acquiescent proletariat
these extraordinary actions by lightening slight of hand manipulation upon a joystick of discriminating death with unthinking critical process performed by our blue-blooded obedient hired guns
to illegally & immorally murder anyone anywhere anytime for any reason above the rule of law is now the definition of American Hero & the legalities for the justification of it are classified… 'secret'
The White Letter from The White House Smells not like a White Rose & it Stinks to High Heaven
by michael hall
First obama murdered children inside of foreign nations
so the people shopped at walmart to show their displeasure
then obama assassinated children and other innocents in countries we were not war with
so flags & troops were honored at every sports game around the land in gratitude
Some lawyers screamed foul as did the few with conscience like Chomsky, Hedges & Blum
but their voices were drowned out by the silence of the bored & apathetic, the meekly submissive
still the good loyal citizens did scream for more guns as their constitutional right
& american idol worship is supposed to be a killer tonight so guess which takes priority?
Hence obama & the exalted mighty military murdered an unarmed american across the pond
so what did WE THE PEOPLE then do you ask?
they swallowed a blue pill sunk their head deeper into the rabbit hole to breath patriotically
hush hush now little children its all a transparent secret nothing to see here just move along
While a depressed american teenager out looking for his murdered father with his cousin
stopped along a dirt road in the heart of a vast desert praying for his dad at dusk
in the middle of a cookout sitting around the fire, just these two american kids
without warning silence was broken by terrorism as they were subsequently droned to smithereens by the us military
Ah but some fires did light up more intensely this time
so obama & his bunch of hooligans had to reluctantly crawl out of their dark dungeon
they argued with legal thickets of sharpened stakes, moats, pickets, shielded by secrets & lies atop turrets no one could reach
through a tapestry of intricate semantics innuendos & bizarre definitions they declared they were upholding the constitution oxymoronically tagging this odium as wise and ethical
Claiming that the research was so sensitive & so secret that it could not be revealed
our divine heroes would then be exposed to violence & that would be quite unamerican
if that happened whistleblowers then would be scapegoated & we know what happens to them
do you really think that renditions & retaliatory vengeance are just deeds of the recent past?
Cattle mooed meekly as they contentedly chewed the crass cud of american idol worship
embedded sheep bleated reverently to the wolves in wool via indoctrination by years of cognitive brainwashing and dissonance bleaching
the superbowl was a commercial success & beyonce lip-synced flawlessly again
& the flags, ah, the flags flew so high & piously, almost above it all, but did i see, a bloodstain, a tear or was it smoke?