A growing focus on American war crimes in the course of their drone strikes has been met with the usual casual dismissal from the White House, with spokesman Jay Carney saying that the program is precise and lawful.
The UN has been probing the use of drones in extraterritorial assassination programs worldwide, citing Pakistan’s own government report that some 400 confirmed civilians have been killed by US drones in their country alone, and hundreds more are almost certainly also civilian non-combatants.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are the latest to focus on the civilian toll of the program, and the legal concerns about the administration’s secretive killing programs, which operate without any oversight or accountability outside of the president’s own say-so.
Carney treated the civilian deaths as unimportant as well, insisting that civilians are killed in every war and that the US remains confident that they are sufficiently careful with the attacks.
Anger at US drone strikes has fueled major backlashes in Pakistan, and seems to be building in Yemen, the latest nation to see a large influx of US killings. The White House comments suggest that they really don’t take the anger about civilian deaths in nominally allied nations any more seriously than they do civilian deaths in active warzones, and are content to just wait for the consequences of war crimes to happen then deal with them.
The problem of the UN security council Veto, and the US itself claiming to be exempt from the War Crimes Tribunal of the Hague is the Problem that the Planet has with the US! About the only way that the world can do much about it would be for the Nobel Peace Prize committee DEMAND Obama return the Peace prize he received because he was no considered by them to be a War Criminal!
This is a new way, a cheaper way and less messier, with less news on solders killing old men and women while sleep, children while playing and etc.
The attitude of the Administration makes all sorts of sense if one realizes that there is absolutely no oversight of the drone program — Hey…Congress!!!…want to do something worthwhile, for a change?
Another aspect of the underlying attitude of indifference is, IMO, if the goal is not to kill selected (sort of) combatants but to foster and grow the ranks of those we are supposedly fighting. Every non-combatant killed – every man, woman, or child killed leaves behind a family and friends who neither understand nor agree with the stated policy of the US for using drones. Every "unintended death" creates what would normally be an unintended consequence, except I don't believe the consequences are "unintended" but desired. In order to maintain the never-ending conflict the fires of hate must constantly be fanned and stoked. And what better way than to decimate a wedding party of 30 multi-generation family members.
And no, Mr. Carney, the program is neither precise nor lawful. You can be assured that if the Chinese government decided that a group of Chinese ex-patriots living in Seattle were responsible for some action of destruction in the Chinese mainland and came after them with the same precision and lawfulness that the US is using in Pakistan, there would be a monumental outcry from Washington – Congress might even declare WAR (nah, they'd never actually take responsibility for a war.)
Carney making that statement is indicative of larger problems with our government and it's relationships with the rest of the world.
When an entire nation in the middle east [Pakistan, e.g.] is terrorized by "the west's" drones killing innocent civilians along with, sometimes not, their supposed 'terror' targets wherever they strike, I believe taking a second look at who exactly are "the terrorists" behind all this chaos within sovereign nations "over there" needs addressing at home, yes? What about the contents of information already whistle blown by conscientious 'nsa' & military insiders who could no longer tolerate being privy to America's heinous foreign, now domestic spying policies? What about doing something about that? What about stopping the droning of every suspected combatant [defending their sovereignty against foreign [US/UN] invaders along with 'collateral damage' [killing of innocent civilians] in US armed drones' sights, orchestrated from some obscure military base in the mid-west of the once good ole US of A. What isn't 'terrorism' about that policy. Rhetorical. Too many questions, insufficient answers. The world is waiting. Kind of like `Canadians with bated breath awaiting for our PM Harper to 'pony up' to the lies he's told Parliament over and over regarding certain Senators conduct in Canada [who Harper appointed, mind] and the PM's part in the debacle re disgraced Senators who're about to be forced, without pay, from the Red Chamber (Senate). Time for the 'shite' of American foreign & domestic policies, spying and covert 'false flags,' and their secretive agendas, some already exposed by 'conscientious whistle-blowers,' hits the fan 'state-side,' too. Let us pray, eh; for conscientious leaders to deliver PEACE everywhere, instead!!!! Amen!
Of course it's lawfull, if you are the one thats doing the killings. Ted Bundy felt the same way.
This statement reflect a HUGE problem we have with the world, and within our own society. First, are these civilians killed in "war"? What kind of war we have with Pakistan? Just because Pakistan cannot prevent us from killing people there, does not mean they approve. Are we in war with Yemen, or Somalia? What other war are we in that we currently do not know? How may regime changers we pay in various countries, and since when this has become a "normal" way to do business with the world? Every small country if for whatever reason comes into US geopolitical, political or just spurned-lover cross-hairs, knows is vulnerable. That will make them run to whever for protection and will cut off diplomacy and trade with us. What are we going to to then? Bomb every country that will not want to have anything to do with us? We are naive people thinking that the government knows what they are doing (for the most part), but we may be off, way off.
I have the distinct feeling the Pakistani govt. approves of these strikes also,as they wouldn't occur without the Pakistani(and Yemeni) air force's permission,as drones are toast to fighter planes and AA.
We are doing their dirty work in eliminating domestic opposition to one of the most corrupt governments in the world,and whose abject failure to provide viability and prosperity for it's people lead to this opposition.Simple.
"are content to just wait for the consequences of war crimes to happen then deal with them."
Well no one stopped Bush and Cheney and they will never have to answer for their war crimes so I don't see why the Obama administration will ever have to worry. It's a shame it really is, things are only going to get worse before it gets better, if it ever gets better.
Exactly the same way Al Capone defended his crimes. In the minds of the psychopaths, what they do cannot be wrong or unlawful.
The number of civilian dead in pakistan is about a thousand, according to residents.
There are civilians killed in every war, though, so it's not that big of a deal. But wait – If civilian deaths are just something that happens in every war, what was the big deal about 9/11? Why ever reference that?
Sarcasm aside, we must always remember: There are three kinds of bloodbaths – The ones Washington doesn't care about, the ones Washington likes and supports (openly or covertly), and the ones Washington condemns because they are committed by non-subordinates and can be used as a pretext for aggression.