Drone strikes kill 58 in Pakistan

[The Northerner]

Islamabad: At least 58 people have been killed in four drone strikes in Pakistan's northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan since Monday night, media reports said on Tuesday.

The first strike on Tuesday was at a house and a vehicle in Dari Nashtar area of North Waziristan that killed at least 18 people.

A second drone fired two missiles at a vehicle suspected to be carrying militants in Beermal area of South Waziristan, killing at least seven people, Xinhua reported citing Urdu TV channel ARY.

Eight people were killed in the third drone strike, in New Adda area, 35 km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, Geo News reported.

Read more: http://www.northindiatimes.com/news/123/ARTICLE/10724/2011-07-12.html

[sad sally]

1. Of course the US will say there were all suspected terrorists of some sort or the other,

or maybe the mother or child of a suspected terrorists. And even though Pakistan told the US to leave the drone base, we told them uh-uh, we're staying.

TOWOOT: Terrorizing Ourselves With Our Own Thinking.

Pakistan tells US to leave ‘drone’ air base

RAWALPINDI: Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said on Wednesday that Pakistan has told the United States to leave “drone” airbase.

“We have told them (the US officials) to leave the Shamsi airbase,” said the minister while talking to journalists at his office. He said the trust between the US and Pakistan had reduced to a great extent after the May 2 incident. “This mistrust could be reduced by sitting together and taking joint actions.” The minister pointed out that the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) had stopped its funding for the war on terror being fought in FATA that had been harming the country’s economy.

He said there was no need to change the military leadership against the backdrop of the Abbottabad incident. “The Inter-Services Intelligence’s director general had presented himself before parliament and offered resignation, but it reposed confidence into him,” he added. Mukhtar said Pakistan’s nuclear assets were “safe” and were being “well maintained”. About the Pak-Russia defence cooperation, he said, it would depend on the results of forthcoming presidential elections in Russia. agencies

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C06%5C30%5Cstory_30-6-2011_pg1_2?du

[demosincebirth]

2. You have an proof that they weren't terrorist?

[sad sally]

8. From the vantage point of drones and those operating them, no, there is

proof who is killed, nor does the US take any official counts of dead bodies.

The bigger dilemma of using drones is should autonomous unmanned weapons be permitted in combat? Using drones for surveillance is different than using them as a weapon.

Are targeted killings by drones a lawful way to conduct war, or combat what we consider terrorism or who we consider to be terrorists? How is the human cost tracked of these weapons platforms?

There are rules of war; the Law of Armed Combat (LOAC), which says:

The LOAC arises from a desire among civilized nations to prevent unnecessary suffering and destruction while not impeding the effective waging of war. A part of public international law, LOAC regulates the conduct of armed hostilities. It also aims to protect civilians, prisoners of war, the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked. LOAC applies to international armed conflicts and in the conduct of military operations and related activities in armed conflict, however such conflicts are characterized.

http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/wars/a/loac.htm?du

The big issue here is not drones per se. It is the extent to which life-and-death targeting decisions should ever be outsourced to machines. It's a dilemma that, to many, will have unknown not good consequences for the US.

[demosincebirth]

15. The LOAC and the Geneva Convention are for combatants in war. Now,

do you think these assholes, al Queda and the taliban, respect the latter? I don't think so. They kill innocent children, innocent men and women in the blink of an eye, and do it over and over. And you talk about rules? Many here on DU remind me of the Copperheads during Lincoln's time that wanted Lincoln to settle for a negotiated peace with the confederate slave holders and keep the status quo. Lincoln had the courage and knowledge to know that the the only way was the total and complete destruction of the confederate states was the only solution. Same goes with these terrorist we have been fighting.

[DocMac]

14. What kind of response is that?

Did they break into your house? Did they steal something of yours?

I am 100% sick of people assuming too much. You have any proof they are terrorists??

Whatever!!

[demosincebirth]

16. All you have to do is watch the news or read the newspapers. Oh, thats right, they're

all controlled by the right wing media. Oh, and the Government, too.

[FirstLight]

3. I rarely click on these stories

because I just can;t stand seeing them. If I combed through the last three years I can;t imagine hown many would be on a list of dead & injured because of these things...

it's a fucking robot killing machine! Is it some kind of sick joke?
WHY are these raids still going on? and ya, while I am sure there less loss of military personnel due to the use of these things...
why are we still targeting civilians anyway?


ugh, fucking WAR
STOP NOW!!!

[The Northerner]

7. +1

[EFerrari]

11. I click on them and rec them but most of the time I don't post

anything because I ran out of words a long time ago for this cR@P.

[MouseFitzgerald]

4. Why exactly do we have any right to even be in Pakistan?

[WonderGrunion]

5. Bin Laden asked the same thing

Just before we shot him through the eye.

[Kaleva]

10. +1

[Cali_Democrat]

6. And people wonder why the Pakistanis hate us. n/t

[defendandprotect]

9. We need two strong anti-war candidates in 2012 .... Sen. Bernie Sanders/Alan Grayson ..!!!

[DocMac]

12. Should I be pleased?

I don't want to read the article or the posts here. I'll just throw and be done with it.

[DocMac]

13. OK

I'm done barfing now. I shouldn't have clicked it.

[sarcasmo]

17. War #4. No cuts for War, but Social Security is on the table.