CIA drone strikes target mourners at funerals and rescue workers

[Cali_Democrat]

U.S. Said to Target Rescuers at Drone Strike Sites
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: February 5, 2012

WASHINGTON — British and Pakistani journalists said Sunday that the C.I.A.’s drone strikes on suspected militants in Pakistan have repeatedly targeted rescuers who responded to the scene of a strike, as well as mourners at subsequent funerals.

The report, by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, found that at least 50 civilians had been killed in follow-up strikes after they rushed to help those hit by a drone-fired missile. The bureau counted more than 20 other civilians killed in strikes on funerals. The findings were published on the bureau’s Web site and in The Sunday Times of London.

The bureau’s findings are based on interviews with witnesses to strikes in Pakistan’s rugged tribal area, where reporting is often dangerous and difficult. American officials have questioned the accuracy of such claims, asserting that accounts might be concocted by militants or falsely confirmed by residents who fear retaliation.

<...>

The bureau counted 260 strikes by Predator and Reaper drones since President Obama took office, and it said that 282 to 535 civilians had been “credibly reported” killed in those attacks, including more than 60 children. American officials said that the number was much too high, though they acknowledged that at least several dozen civilians had been killed inadvertently in strikes aimed at militant suspects.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/world/asia/us-drone-strikes-are-said-to-target-rescuers.html?_r=1

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Yay! Smoke 'em out! Bring it on! All that's missing is the cowboy boots.

“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy.” - Mohandas K. Gandhi

[drokhole]

8. To add...

"Do not think yourself better because you burn up friends and enemies with long-range missiles, without ever seeing what you have done." - Thomas Merton

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. Compare this with this AP story from September 2006

The U.S. military said Wednesday it is looking into the unauthorized release of a photo purportedly taken by an American drone aircraft showing scores of Taliban militants at a funeral in Afghanistan.

NBC-TV claimed U.S. Army officers wanted to attack the ceremony with missiles carried by the Predator drone, but were prevented under rules of battlefield engagement that bar attacks on cemeteries.

--clip--

The grainy black and white photo shows what NBC says are some 190 Taliban militants standing in several rows near a vehicle in an open area of land. The black outline of a box — apparently the sight of the drone — is positioned over the group.

NBC quoted one Army officer who was involved with the spy mission as saying "we were so excited" that the group had been spotted and was in the sights of a U.S. drone. But the network quoted the officer, who was not identified, as saying that frustration soon set in after the officers realized they couldn't bomb the funeral under the military's rules of engagement.

I remember this discussion in class. It was pretty heated over whether it was better to respect a culture even though we were at war with some of its adherents or whether you allow nearly 200 enemies to walk away.

Apparently the "Rules" of Engagement have changed.

[Cali_Democrat]

3. So it appears the US has decided to begin targeting funerals after this incident

I find that to be particularly ghoulish.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. Not entirely unprecedented.

When al Sadr first came to prominence there was a massive operation in a Shia cemetery. People leaping/sniping literally from gravestone to gravestone. It took the Iraqi Ayetollah basically telling al Sadr to settle the f*** down to end it before the US moved in and shot-up the shrine to finish off the last of them.

I don't know if having ground troops do it instead of drones is "fairer" but I'm informed by others that while cemeteries, hospitals, civilian homes et al are generally considered "protected." HOWEVER, if an enemy is using a protected site as a fighting position it loses its protection and the enemy is actually legally liable under the laws of war. Of course al Sadr was using a cemetery as a fighting position, just standing around in a cemetery is a non-hostile act. I'd hate to think our current CinC *might* be doing more than just loosening the Rules of Engagement.

[Cali_Democrat]

9. These are funerals in the tribal region of Pakistan

They aren't firing and shooting at US forces from the funerals, at least not that I'm aware of.

[T S Justly]

4. When Obama so famously gets down on his knees and prays ...

Is it for death? A good heart? Eyes that may see the horrific consequences of his acts? I'm not a religious
person, but I'd say salvation is out of the question at this point.

[LeftyMom]

5. It doesn't matter. Bush was a praying man too.

"God" always tells religious people what they want to hear, funny how that works.

[gratuitous]

6. I don't think anyone could have foreseen . . .

Well, it's just a bunch of terrorists, after all. We can sight those now, and our really super-duper smart bombs are designed to kill only terrorists and the occasional militant. No worries. Anyone claiming otherwise - we got this covered too - is probably just a militant or someone scared into lying by a militant.

Trust your leaders where mistakes are almost never made.