Massive US airstrike in Yemen kills 'dozens' of people, Pentagon says

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

A massive US airstrike in Yemen has killed what the Pentagon estimates is “dozens” of people, the second such mass-casualty strike the US military has undertaken this month.

The two strikes, killing more than 200 people at what the Pentagon described as terrorist training camps, diverged so sharply from the previous years’ worth of relatively low-casualty strikes that observers speculated US policy might have quietly changed.

Peter Cook, the Pentagon spokesman, announced late Tuesday that the US had bombed a mountain redoubt in Yemen used by al-Qaida’s local affiliate, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). He said it was a “training camp” used by “more than 70 AQAP terrorists”.

An independent assessment of the actual impact of the strike, to include a full casualty total and civilian impact, was not immediately available. The Pentagon did not provide further detail of where in Yemen the alleged camp was located.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/22/us-airstrike-yemen-dozens-dead-al-qaida-terrorism-training-camp

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Spencer Ackerman in New York
Wednesday 23 March 2016 01.27 GMT Last modified on Wednesday 23 March 2016 01.29 GMT

[msongs]

1. its the battle of the bands...oooops mass killings nt

[think]

2. Kicking for the people of Yemen who have suffered under dictatorial rule for decades...

Yemen loses a dictator, but not his shadow

Yemen elected a new president this week, but one of the conditions for the vote was complete amnesty for the ousted longtime dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Whether that amnesty will eventually be overturned has implications for Yemen, and other dictators in the region.

By Andrew G. Reiter FEBRUARY 23, 2012

SOUTH HADLEY, MASS. — After 33 years, Yemen is finally rid of its autocratic ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh – but not necessarily free of his shadow.

With hope in their hearts, Yemenis surged to the polls this week to elect his replacement as president, the US-backed Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Mr. Hadi holds the possibility for a peaceful transition in this fourth country to lose a dictator in the Arab Spring uprising.

But Mr. Hadi was vice president in the Saleh regime as well as the only candidate on the ballot. And there’s another problematic side to this election. Mr. Saleh, who is in the United States receiving medical treatment, will not be going to jail, at least not for the foreseeable future...

Full article:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0223/Yemen-loses-a-dictator-but-not-his-shadow

[Hoppy]

3. We sure fixed some Yemini asses. Dozens of them terrorists gone.

Kinda reminds me of the "Five o'clock Follies." That was the journalists term for the Army's daily press briefings that listed the body count of the Viet Cong that were killed each day.

We sure fixed us some Viet Cong asses.

Come to think of it, we've fixed a lot of asses since the end of WW II.

[nichomachus]

4. I have a friend who was a medic in 'Nam

One of his jobs was to collect bodies and body parts from the Viet Cong they killed. Every body part was counted as a "kill." Find a hand -- one Cong dead. Find a foot -- two Cong dead. Find a head -- three Cong dead. Their body counts were impressive.

[cynzke]

5. 200 TERRORIST KILLED!

Down to every last man, woman, child and baby! Donald should be pleased.

[cynzke]

6. WE BOMBED THE SHIT OUT OF THEIR DOGS, CATS, COWS AND GOATS TOO!

Can't take any chances!

[cpwm17]

7. Nothing to see here: I'm sure they all had a fair trial before they were executed.

[oberliner]

8. Under what mechanism could people in an Al-Qaida training camp in Yemen be brought to trial?

Can you explain the process by which that trial could have been brought about?

[PersonNumber503602]

9. Send them letters asking them to appear in front of a judge.

Seems easy enough.

[Sunlei]

10. I much prefer to use the source of the media "story", its where the media gets their information.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases


Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Yemen Airstrike

Press Operations

Release No: NR-103-16
March 22, 2016

Early this morning the U.S. military conducted an airstrike against an al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula training camp in Yemen. The camp was located in the mountains, and was being used by more than 70 AQAP terrorists. We continue to assess the results of the operation, but our initial assessment is that dozens of AQAP fighters have been removed from the battlefield. This strike deals a blow to AQAP's ability to use Yemen as a base for attacks that threaten U.S. persons, and it demonstrates our commitment to defeating al-Qa'ida and denying it safe haven.