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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDrone attacks boost extremism
Despite numerous warnings, threats and protests, the US continues its missile attacks in Pakistan. The latest on Thursday killed the most senior Pakistani in Al-Qaeda, Badar Mansour. According to one estimate, more than 200 such missile attacks have been made since 2009 in Pakistan's tribal belt.
US President Barack Obama recently defended the use of unmanned aircraft to kill Al-Qaeda operatives and other militants in Pakistan's tribal areas. In the process, he officially acknowledged the highly classified CIA drone program that US officials had refused to discuss in public until now.
Obama said the drone program was a "targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists". But the fact remains that hundreds of civilians, including more than 60 children, have been killed in drone attacks since Obama took office.
The US cannot justify or brush aside the killing of innocent civilians on the pretext of targeting militants in another country.
Read more: http://www.yementimes.com/en/1549/opinion/463/Drone-attacks-boost-extremism.htm
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Not.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Unless you're in line to sop up some of those juicy, juicy defense contracts, this policy and program are going to hurt the United States and its citizens far worse than anything we're purportedly defending ourselves against. It's unconscionable, unfocused, and unprofitable. It creates animosity and ill feeling that won't be resolved by $2,500 payments to the grieving survivors. We the taxpayers are paying for this with our money at the front end, and we will pay for it in blood later on (I was going to say "at the back end," but there is no "back end." When we suffer the righteous revenge of our victims, we'll have the pretext to start all over again, exterminating the extremists who hate us for our freedom.)
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)Oh, sorry - my computer clock read 2/23/2008! Someone's been screwing with it again.