Friday, March 12, 2010

Civilians among those killed in North Waziristan drone attacks

These attacks seem to go on and on with little discussion or even publicity. Rather than questioning whether the attacks are lawful or moral the main criticism seems always to be that they may not work and may actually be harmful through creating more Taliban recruits. The fact that such an argument is usually the only one advanced shows the moral bankruptcy of the US, a bankruptcy that is seen as of no significance. On the moral front the US is not too big too fail since it is able to control the moral discourse--or lack of it. This is from antiwar.com..


Civilians Among 17 Killed in Latest US Drone Strikes
Posted By Jason Ditz
An unknown number of civilians were slain today in Pakistan’s North Waziristan Agency, when US drones launched a pair of attacks on a site which left at least 17 people killed and several wounded.

The first drone strike targeted a vehicle which Pakistani officials say was “carrying some miscreants.” The attack killed at least eight people and collapsed a nearby home, which is what precipitated the second attack.

A crowd of civilians gathered around the collapsed building, trying to pull people from the rubble, when a second drone fired missiles into the crowd, killing at least nine people and wounding several others.

“Miscreants” aside, it was unclear if any of those killed were militants of any significant faction, and Pakistani officials say there was no evidence any high-value target at the site. The area is controlled by a nominally “Taliban” militant faction which currently has a peace deal with the Pakistani government.

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