Yesterday reports emerged about a NATO airstrike in Logar province that, according to local officials, killed 18 civilians—the vast majority women and children.
Readers of the Washington Post could learn about this (6/7/12) by flipping to page 10 and looking for this headline:
Afghanistan Suicide Blasts Kill at Least 22 Civilians
A suicide attack gets top billing. Next comes word that “overall levels of violence have dropped” in the country. Following that, a helicopter crash that killed two NATO troops. Then finally:
Separately, there were conflicting accounts about the killing of civilians in a NATO-led airstrike overnight in Logar province, south of Kabul.
The New York Times was better (which would not be difficult). The front-page photo shows the aftermath of the airstrike, along with the caption “Confusion in the Rubble of a NATO Airstrike.”
Like the Post, the Times led with news of the suicide attack, followed by a passage noting the decline in civilian deaths. The paper’s account then went on to offer more details about the NATO airstrike—before getting back to the apparently more newsworthy Taliban suicide attack.
Because an official enemy killing civilians is always more important than your own government killing civilians—right?
The victims are buried in more ways than one.
The blood-lusters of all ages are outraged when someone else is killing where they claim the sole right to commit all murders.
This is the similar to the privilege of a king who claimed the sole right to hunt for sport in a wood, while prohibiting the subsistence hunting of their serfs. The vile maxim of “All for me, none for you,” holds here. How dare anyone take from the king what he declares to be his private estate?
The king is privileged by divine right to execute God’s will. The kings kills are legal, by his own standard, and unremarkable; all other killing are outrages against order, and should be of interest to his loyal subjects, and reportable to them as a warning against further transgressions.
War is but the sporting hunt of the most dangerous animal, man. So it is as it has ever been. Only language and fashions change.
War is but the sporting hunt of the most dangerous animal, man. So it is as it has ever been. Only language and fashions change.
You forgot to mention the weapons. As time goes on, we get more and more efficient about it, so that one man can kill 100 without every have to see them. Perhaps we should go back to an old tradition with a new modern face; Send all armies to the moon and let them battle, one on one, Hand to Hand, Mano E Mano.
Why is NATO even there? Because of the USA. I was hoping the USA would be shown the door and NATO reorganized as a European theater defense group only as was their original charter. Now they get involved half a world away and for what? I thought this was UN territory? But not if the USA can get them to do their dirty work for them. Wasn’t the idea of a war to make less mistakes and to let your enemy (or proxies) die for their country? The cunning planners at our Pentagon and DoD are sure following it.
There are two ways to win in Afghanistan. One pull out and just be part of missions to help bring Afghanistan into the 20th century. The other is to kill nearly two to one and enslave the rest. Chose.
And how will the historians summarize and characterize these events?
Will they begin with: “The NATO alliance defends itself with airstrikes in Afghanistan”
or with: “Paranoia strikes deep”?
can someone out there do a type of stuxnet and have u.s. drones turn around on those who send them?
I think the stage is being set for a pre-election exit from Afghanistan by pissing off Karzai’s government which will either ask us to leave or so constrain our operations that our departure will be acceptable to our own hawks. Just gotta wonder how our drones strikes manage interfere with so many “weddings.”
There is one point this story failed to express. The president maintains a secret kill list. I suppose there is a great comfort for every person, who can write, having their own secret list. I will bet those related to the dead have a list. Like all blood feuds, time and wealth will not assuage this anger.
I actually think FAIR got this story wrong.The headline should be…..Reported NATO airstrike that killed 18 STILL not verified.Do that headline 14 days in a row and maybe…just maybe ,you will get these reporters to do their jobs and hunt this down.We all want to know what happened.If you believe the Pentagon is sweeping it under the rug ,it is easy for the journalists there to go to the spot and get the news.If any there be.The Pentagon says that the story is false.Ok my free press..GO GET EM.
Of course, we should blindly trust journalists who are embedded with NATO to give us the whole truth about the consequences for local civilians steming from the use of NATO firepower in Afghanistan (or anywhere else). Since drone strikes and other aerial strikes are delivered in areas which are allegedly too dangerous and/or too remote for ground troops to operate in, should we really expect pampered Western journalists to use their own iniative to get into those places and to ferret out and to publish the truth?
Pleasehead…you just beautifully framed that these areas are dangerous.Loaded with combatants.You state the journalists on site are worthless.NATO is worthless.Afghan gov is worthlessOK who isn’t worthless?Where are theses stories coming from?The only ones left are the people we are fighting against.Is it from them we are getting our news from?Is it them who lead the idea that innocents are dying left, and right in complete disregard of pretty much every official cell reporting?Where are you getting your news from?This story may or may not be true.So far it is just hear say.
Sooner or later who ever invades will leave. Unless the people are taken away and give up like in Tibet.
Funny. When suicide bombers kill a handful of people, they are consdiered heartless despicable murderers by MSM journalists. But when homocide bombers kill thousands, they are fighting for freedom and/or national security! As long as most Americans continue to consider those Muslims half-way across the world unpersons, our Lord High Executioner (couldn’t resist borrowing from G&S’s Mikado) will put them on his list and have them extrajudicially executed (i.e. assasinated. Murdered). Modern Iranian poet Ahmad Shamloo said it well: it’s difficult to make someone understand something that he is getting paid not to understand!
Finally, someone here said that we should not really expect pampered Western journalists to use their own iniative to get into those places and to ferret out and to publish the truth. What about Chris Hedges, Robert Fisk and Jeremy Scahill? On a related note the Lord High Executioner (Sorry, I mean President Obama) ordered a drone attack on 16 year old Pakistani Tariq Aziz because he was trying to document drone attacks! So much for being a constitutional lawyer!
Freespirit
I think the difference(though sometimes not the results)speaks for itself.We target the enemy.Innocents then die.Terrorists target the innocents.When they die ,THAT is a mission accomplished.In Germany Dresden was bombed, killing tens of thousands of people in a balls to the walls carpets bombing approach to destroying the industry and infra structure of war there.The horrors of war were experienced by these people….People who do not speak as bad about us, as those on these sites do.Do you see the disconnect?Some people on the left have become incapacitated from seeing the difference between the way we do things,and lets say North Korea.Israel and Hamas.They have been taught we are all the same
Michael, I think you would see a lot more clearly if you shed your imperialist coat. Take it off. Think for yourself. Stop being a Nazi. I don’t mean this as an insult. Nazi is the German term meaning nationalist. You don’t have to defend your country right or wrong. BTW, how do you know the terrorist are targeting innocent people only? That is patently naive. What the hell does the word enemy mean to you? Those enemies are defending their country against 10-year agression of US and NATO. How do you know the people your government targets are guilty of whatever you say they are? Obama isn’t even putting them on trial! BTW, you must not be reading the news. The US is killing innocent people, it’s just not reported…