Battling Al Qaeda, killing children

[Vattel]

Great article on Yemen in the April 11, 2011 issue of the New Yorker. It has a lot of information about very recent events, as well as some information about American military actions in 2009. Interestingly, Wikileaks revealed that Saleh had promised General Petreaus that he would pretend that the American attacks on Al Qaeda were being carried out by the Yemeni military:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/11/110411fa_fact_filkins

On December 17, 2009, in the lawless terrain of southern Yemen, the village of Al Majalah was destroyed by a series of military strikes. In a statement released the same day, the Yemeni government declared that its Air Force had carried out attacks against suspected Al Qaeda camps, killing thirty-four militants. The government noted that the U.S. had shared intelligence with the Saleh government, but acknowledged no other American involvement.

In the following months, the Yemeni statement was exposed as a deception. In fact, the strikes had been carried out by Tomahawk cruise missiles. Moreover, survivors of the attack insisted that the victims were nearly all civilians. . . .

Hussein Abdullah, a herdsman, told me that he had been tending a herd of goats and camels when Al Majalah was hit. He recalled lying in his tent at sunrise, half-awake, when there was an enormous flash. “The sky turned white,’’ Abdullah said. “Everything suddenly disappeared.” He was knocked unconscious, and when he came to, he told me, he saw his wife running toward him. “And when she threw her arms around me I felt blood all over me,” he said. She died, as did his daughter; only his infant son survived.

I also met a fifteen-year-old named Fatima Ali, who rolled up the sleeve of her chador, revealing hideous burns. Another girl showed me her hand, which was missing a finger. She had lost her mother in the raid.

An investigation by the Yemeni Parliament found that the attack killed 14 Al Qaeda fighters and 41 civilians, including 23 children. Even if--and it’s a big if--this sort of bombing actually makes us more secure against terrorism, I for one don't want the foundation of my security to be the graves of innocent children. Physical security is the highest value of the coward!

Note: I had to post this again because apparently my earlier post violated DU’s copyright rules.