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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWashington's Wedding Album From Hell
From TomDispatch:
U.S. air power has set records when it comes to wiping out wedding parties, the most recent in Yemen via a drone strike. That is the eighth reported wedding evisceration since December 2001 in three countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Yemen. That should qualify as a modern record, but in this country, even when covering the latest wedding disaster, no one remembers. And as TomDispatch has been counting these incidents since 2008, we are particularly well placed to point out this convenient case of historical amnesia in a situation where you would think -- 8 wedding parties wiped out! -- it might be continuing headline material. Today, in light of what TomDispatch knows about this, I review the situation. I think youll find it a unique piece. Tom
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175787/
http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175787/
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/world/middleeast/yemen-deaths-raise-questions-on-new-drone-policy.html
By MARK MAZZETTI and ROBERT F. WORTH
December 20, 2013
WASHINGTON In some respects, the drone strike in Yemen last week resembled so many others from recent years: A hail of missiles slammed into a convoy of trucks on a remote desert road, killing at least 12 people.
But this time the trucks were part of a wedding procession, making the customary journey from the grooms house to the house of the bride.
The Dec. 12 strike by the Pentagon, launched from an American base in Djibouti, killed at least a half-dozen innocent people, according to a number of tribal leaders and witnesses, and provoked a storm of outrage in the country. It also illuminated the reality behind the talk surrounding the Obama administrations new drone policy, which was announced with fanfare seven months ago.
Although American officials say they are being more careful before launching drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan and elsewhere and more transparent about the clandestine wars that President Obama has embraced the strike last week offers a window on the intelligence breakdowns and continuing liability of a targeted killing program that remains almost entirely secret.
..more..
By MARK MAZZETTI and ROBERT F. WORTH
December 20, 2013
WASHINGTON In some respects, the drone strike in Yemen last week resembled so many others from recent years: A hail of missiles slammed into a convoy of trucks on a remote desert road, killing at least 12 people.
But this time the trucks were part of a wedding procession, making the customary journey from the grooms house to the house of the bride.
The Dec. 12 strike by the Pentagon, launched from an American base in Djibouti, killed at least a half-dozen innocent people, according to a number of tribal leaders and witnesses, and provoked a storm of outrage in the country. It also illuminated the reality behind the talk surrounding the Obama administrations new drone policy, which was announced with fanfare seven months ago.
Although American officials say they are being more careful before launching drone strikes in Yemen, Pakistan and elsewhere and more transparent about the clandestine wars that President Obama has embraced the strike last week offers a window on the intelligence breakdowns and continuing liability of a targeted killing program that remains almost entirely secret.
..more..
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Washington's Wedding Album From Hell (Original Post)
G_j
Dec 2013
OP
rgbecker
(4,831 posts)1. I think jilted boy friends are claiming the grooms are terriorists in order to the get the US's help
Makes as much sense as anything else our heroes are doing.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)3. A lot of these drones are being flown by gamers...
They are used to shooting at anything that moves.
G_j
(40,367 posts)4. yet they are highly trained
I think they are doing exactly what they are instructed to do.
the military is good for one thing.
Octafish
(55,745 posts)2. It was all legal like.
Contractors got paid. Paperwork filed.
That's about it, apart from the mass murderers escaping justice part.