The Obama Administration’s previous promises not to launch drone strikes unless there is a “near certainty” that the strike won’t kill any civilians, much publicized in the lead up to the new ISIS war, doesn’t apply to US strikes in Iraq or Syria, according to Centcom.
The “near certainty” standard was meant to apply “only when we take direct action outside areas of active hostilities,” according to Centcom spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden, who says that the war with ISIS doesn’t count.
The US has often played fast and loose with that standard at any rate, routinely killing civilians in Pakistan and Yemen in areas most assured “outside areas of active hostilities.” Nevertheless, one shudders to think how much worse the civilian toll in Iraq and Syria will be, with officials openly saying that nominal care they’re supposed to take doesn’t apply.
US strikes, particularly in Syria, have killed a number of civilians already, with two confirmed civilian deaths yesterday when US warplanes attacked grain silos in ISIS-held territory. Though the Pentagon is officially denying any deaths, today’s Centcom comments clearly lay the groundwork for an admission of guilt, and a position of formal ambivalence about the civilians the military is killing.
The more fast-and-loose definition of care may mirror the US occupation of Afghanistan, where airstrikes have routinely killed large numbers of civilians, and incidents of scores and even hundreds of civilians slain in botched strikes are not unheard of.
It also makes the weekend admonition by the Red Cross for the US to take care that it abides by international bans against targeting civilians and medical personnel all the more important, as their checkered track record of doing that in past wars seems to be the template they’re applying to the new conflict.
Standards for the Nobel Peace Prize have already been lowered to the level of hairy gonads hanging out of yellowed underwear, so why not?
There is a strange interdependence between thoughtlessness and evil.
Hannah Arendt
"US strikes, particularly in Syria, have killed a number of civilians already, with two confirmed civilian deaths yesterday when US warplanes attacked grain silos in ISIS-held territory. Though the Pentagon is officially denying any deaths, today’s Centcom comments clearly lay the groundwork for an admission of guilt, and a position of formal ambivalence about the civilians the military is killing."
What would you expect from the nation that gave you Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the firebombings of Dresden and Tokyo?
Nor did George W. Bush war in Iraq, civilian or no civilians they are not to save life's, if they would care about humans life Obama wouldn't accept the war party notions for regime change anywhere.
Obama is part of the War Party.
Evil will recoil on those who plot evil.
Let's hope so
Now, Americans should STFU when any terrorist/criminal/separatist organization starts killing innocent American civilians. After all, they'll be using American logic.
There should be a university course at al level off study called the art of American/Western Hypocrisy.
This will guarantee that taking "ISIS"s side will be very tempting on the ground. They're not stupid: that's what they want. It's not meant to be 'won' it's meant to be perpetual.
What have we become…those who order/plan for this depravity to happen…and as citizens who continue to sit by and allow this kind of behavior to go unpunished? I think it is no longer a secret that we have some very sick and cruel people as leaders. But have we as a society thrown in the towel and gotten in line behind them? Have we fallen to their depths?
Why aren't these animals being shouted down wherever they appear to convince us that we should trust them because they know what is best for the country. They don't. They are despicable and as have been proven, war criminals and traitors to the ideals this country was founded upon. They've twisted everything, including the citizens, into knots that they hold – and their hold is getting tighter and tighter.
Are we as citizens, as Americans, content to sit idly by as these cretins destroy our country?
BTW, if you in the EU and other "political/economic conglomerates" think you are immune to what is happening in America, I'd advise you to look closely at what your governments are doing also.
"But have we as a society thrown in the towel and gotten in line behind them?"
Yes. If you doubt that we live in a culture of cruelty and greed, try being sick, old, and poor. I can tell you from personal experience it's not much fun being a Useless Eater. And all those people living on top of OUR oil are certainly Useless Eaters, so who cares if they die?
Unfortunately, you are correct…the proof is all the legislation passed or tabled that would make it more difficult for, as you succinctly put it, Useless Eaters to survive. Does anyone really need additional proof that there is a societal war underway to, using the Israelis phrase, mow the grass?
Well, remember the Roman Empire and its daily bread and circuses for the citizenry? In a way, the US is its modern version; and the citizens are deeply indulged in their bread and circuses – McDonald's, sports, and TV reality shows such as Dancing with the Stars, America's Got Talent, The Voice, and American Idol.
Don't forget Duck Dynasty…
"If it moves kill it!" General Order WTF#666 – CENTCOM and the Obama regime.
We don't have real "standards" worthy of that phrase, so lowering them can hardly matter.
Given that the "standard" wasn't really applied anywhere in the first place, that it was just more of the kind of rhetoric intended to make the US public feel good about killing scores of people claimed to be "suspected militants" in attacks on first responders, wedding parties, funerals, gatherings of tribal elders, etc., it's not surprising to see the standard dropped when the elite see an opportunity to do some serious useless eater eradication. If the USG ever had notions of sparing civilians, why would they invest so much US taxpayer money in ever more efficient ways of killing large numbers of people, most recently a trillion dollar upgrade of the US nuclear arsenal. Nothing says "kinder and gentler" like an ICBM equipped with multiple independently targeted nuclear warheads1 (sarc.)
Thank god we are not beheading them. That would be really bad.