Pakistan condemns U.S. over drone strike that kills 36 (McClatchy)

[chill_wind]

Pakistan condemns U.S. over drone strike that killed 36

Thursday, March 17, 2011
By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Just one day after a CIA contractor was absolved by a Pakistani court of a double murder charge, Pakistan and U.S. relations were plunged into a new crisis Thursday over a CIA-directed drone missile strike that Pakistan said killed at least 36 civilians.

Pakistan's military and civilian leadership condemned the strike in unusually harsh language, demanding compensation for the victims and an apology.

Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani called the attack a "violation of human rights" and said the dead were peaceful tribal leaders attending a meeting, not Islamic extremists.

(snip)

The number of dead, put at 40 in some reports, is unusual for any drone attack. Given the dangers from the ever-present U.S. drone aircraft hovering above, militants would be reluctant to meet in such large numbers. The strike happened in the Datta Khel district, a militant hotbed.

more- http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/03/17/110627/pakistan-condemns-us-over-drone.html

[Alamuti Lotus]

1. any of the liberal war-boners up for a no-fly zone over Afghanistan & Pakistan?

I mean, if you're so eager to protect civilian life.... protecting Afghan & Pakistani civilians against ongoing US/NATO aggression should be put to a UN vote as well.

[readmoreoften]

3. +1. The Humanitarian intervention meme gets their bleeding hearts every time.

Then they're SHOCKED, SHOCKED I TELL YOU when it goes wrong.

[Alamuti Lotus]

4. well-intentioned, naive fools led by the nose into another war..

given how easy it is to goad the gullible, I wish I was "selling" something--could make a killing (um, literally--bad pun) off of them.

[readmoreoften]

8. If they really supported revolutionaries in the every day, they'd know better.

But they don't. Only when it really looks bad.

[chill_wind]

6. They're not liking such a suggestion, apparently, or just seeing this latest report

judging by the unrecs this is getting.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. we just created 400 new enemies.

I wonder just who has the president's ear.
Why are we doing this? Don't they see that we make things worse, not better?
No matter how many drones we put up, we play a game that has the same result, no matter what. We lose. The locals win. The only issue is how many will be committed to killing us off.

If we leave now, they will resolve their own issues, in their own way. They are entitled to do just that. After all, that's their land, not ours.

Imagine how much worse it would be if Pakistan had oil reserves. We'd really fuck them over, up, down, and in and out, in that case.

[chill_wind]

5. Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/17/us-pakistan-violence-idUSTRE72G1WA20110317

"There were conflicting accounts about the target of the attack and those killed in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan. The death toll was one of the highest in a drone missile strike."

[slipslidingaway]

7. knr nt

[chill_wind]

9. Thanks ssa. This is, once again, very bad. :-(

[slipslidingaway]

11. Yes it is and you're welcome. n/t

[chill_wind]

10. Pak Tribal Leaders Vow To Avenge US Drone Attack

Pak Tribal Leaders Vow To Avenge US Drone Attack
3/18/2011 9:53 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Pakistan's tribal leaders have vowed to avenge a U.S. drone attack that killed more than 40 people in the country's remote tribal region.

A statement issued on Friday by elders of the country's troubled northwest region of North Waziristan said, "We are a people who wait 100 years to exact revenge. We never forgive our enemy."

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/GeneralNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=1578898