Aerial bombardments in cities violate human rights.

This is from Juan Cole's blog. No one can touch the US for violating international law having to do with obligations of occupiers. The UN may bleat and Maliki may bleat but that is about all. The US does not recognise the international court of justice in fact it "bribes" countries not to sign on so the US troops will not be subject to it.
A similar policy is followed in Afghanistan by bomber Mcneill. The policy not only saves US soldiers lives but it also teaches civilians that they should not harbor or support insurgents.

Obviously, for an Occupation military to bomb a densely-populated city that it already largely controls is a violation of human rights law. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq has just condemned the US for using this tactic, which inevitably kills children, women and other non-combatants. You can't drop a bomb on an urban apartment building without killing lots of people, not only inside the building but also all around it. The bomb turns bits of the building into deadly projectiles. I am told that the US Air Force takes no responsibility for these aerial strikes when they are called in by army troops on the ground, and makes no assessment as to whether proportional force was deployed or excessive civilian casualties were incurred. So you have a convoy of soldiers in humvees driving through deeply hostile Sadr City, and someone starts sniping at them from a building. Obviously, running into the building is dangerous; it could be booby-trapped, or snipers could have set up there. I wouldn't want to do it. So the tendency would obviously be to take out the snipers by taking out the building they are using. That makes military sense. It doesn't make sense in the international law of occupations.

The US military spokesmen are always going on about precision strikes and reducing civilian casualties. I know they are sincere in thinking they can do that, but they just aren't dealing with a simple reality. They are bombing apartment buildings in densely populated cities!

The US military, then, may be artificially keeping US military deaths down this fall by resorting to many more aerial bombings. These bombings have repeatedly drawn forth powerful condemnations from the elected Iraqi political authorities and are unlikely to be viable much longer.

US steps up war-zone airstrikes

This is from USA today. This policy is clearly designed to minimise US casualties but is bound to increase Iraqi civilian casualties. Both Maliki and Karzai complain about the policy to absolutely no avail. In Afghanistan the policy is promoted by Bomber McNeil.


U.S. military steps up war-zone airstrikes

By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
The U.S. military has increased airstrikes in Iraq four-fold this year, reflecting a steep escalation in combat operations aimed at al-Qaeda and other militants.
Coalition forces launched 1,140 airstrikes in the first nine months of this year compared with 229 in all of last year, according to military statistics.

Airstrikes are up in Afghanistan, too. Coalition planes have made 2,764 bombing runs this year, up from 1,770 last year. The figures don't include strikes by helicopter gunships.

The increasing use of air power also stems from improved accuracy and smaller munitions that allow commanders to launch airstrikes against insurgents who travel in small groups and sometimes hide among civilians.

In Iraq, the temporary increase of 30,000 U.S. troops ordered by President Bush in January has led to the increase in bombing missions. The U.S. command has moved forces off large bases and into neighborhoods and has launched several large offensives aimed at al-Qaeda.

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"You end up having that many more opportunities for close air support," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen Mueller, director of the Combined Air Operations Center.

More precise targeting and smaller bombs have made it easier for the Air Force to support ground troops in counterinsurgencies, such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"We're hitting within 15 feet of where we're aiming," Mueller said. A typical 500-pound bomb is 50% explosives, but newer versions carry about 100 pounds of explosives.

Some bombs are "designed to take one building and not the whole block," Mueller said.

Fighting in Baghdad has also pushed insurgents into the surrounding countryside, making it easier to spot and bomb them, he said.

Afghanistan's mountainous terrain lends itself to airstrikes, since attack planes can reach remote regions before troops can, and there are fewer ground forces in the country.

"We are using air power in lieu of putting extensive forces on the ground," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Allen Peck, commander of the Air Force Doctrine Development and Education Center.

However, increased use of air power raises the chances of killing innocent civilians, said Mark Clodfelter, a professor at the National War College. Winning over the population is key to defeating insurgents.

"You don't want bombing to be a recruiting method for the insurgents," Clodfelter said.

Airstrikes in Afghanistan this year allegedly killed dozens of civilians, angering the population and drawing criticism from Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

Iraqis Decry US Airstrikes that Killed Civilians

This is from the Washington Post.
This tactic is used to reduce casualties and to show civilians that to help insurgents may lead to death. The same tactics are used by bomber McNeil in Afghanistan. In both cases the result is enduring hatred and in a tribal society a commitment to revenge. In both Afghanistan and Iraq the government has protested to absolutely no avail at these tactics.


Iraqis Decry U.S. Airstrike That Killed Civilians

By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, October 13, 2007; A14



BAGHDAD, Oct. 12 -- Iraqis voiced outrage Friday over a U.S. military airstrike that killed an estimated 15 civilians -- nine children and six women, one of the highest reported civilian death tolls from an American bombing in months.

The bombing occurred Thursday evening after U.S. troops raided a suspected leadership meeting of the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq that was taking place south of Lake Tharthar, near the city of Samarra in western Iraq. The U.S. military's account of the violence said troops were shot at during the raid and called in an airstrike in self-defense. In addition to the civilians killed, the U.S. military estimated that 19 suspected insurgents died.

"This could have been done through the infantry," said Ibrahim al-Khamas, a Samarra city council member. "But the American Army prefers the easiest solution, which is the air bombardment."

The bombing came just before Eid al-Fitr, the religious celebration that concludes the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"This airstrike was excessive, as usual, which led to the fall of civilians," Khamas added. "People here are now carrying great hatred against the Americans after the raid. This airstrike turned their Eid to grief."

The U.S. military provided little further information Friday but said it was investigating the incident with local officials and tribal leaders. A U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Winfield S. Danielson III, said the initial death tolls of combatants and civilians were estimates. Of the 15 civilians initially reported killed, all were women and children, and it was unclear whether the U.S. military considered all the males killed to be insurgents.

An elder in the town of Tharthar, Mohammed Mukhlis al-Darraji, said the bombing took place in an area called al-Samacha, Arabic for "fishermen," the occupation of many people living around the lake. Darraji said the victims included infants, but acknowledged that "this area is one of al-Qaeda's favorites."

Mohammed al-Samarrae, 34, said his pregnant cousin was killed in the bombing. He expressed a mix of dismay at her death and the weariness of life after more than four years of war.

"Where can anybody be safe from Bush's democracy?" he asked. "Whenever we want to open a new chapter with the Americans, to forget the past and try all over again, they drag us into violence, weapons and fighting again. And to sympathize with al-Qaeda against them. All because of their inconsideration for our blood."

Some Iraqis called the U.S. airstrike a success. Amar Abdul Kareem, a member of a group of tribal leaders in Salahuddin province who are collaborating with the U.S. military against al-Qaeda, said the important aspect of the raid was killing the suspected insurgents. As for the civilians, he said, "God have mercy on them."

"If they did not die in the raid, the terrorists would have killed them with car bombs," he said. "I am confident that the American military did not deliberately want to harm any of the Iraqis, and did not intend to spoil the joy of Eid."

Violence continued in the capital on Friday, when a car bomb exploded near a popular market in central Baghdad. The blast near Tahrir Square killed five people, including two policemen, and wounded 10, Iraqi police said.

Also, in Tuz Khurmatu, near Kirkuk in northern Iraq, a bomb hidden amid toys in a carriage exploded on a playground, killing two people and wounding 12, police said.

Other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report.