U.S. drone attack kills 6 suspected militants in Yemen

[dixiegrrrrl]

Source: Reuters

7:46 a.m. CDT, September 5, 2012

ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed six suspected Islamist militants in eastern Yemen on Wednesday, a security official said, the latest sign of a Washington-backed campaign against al Qaeda-linked fighters in the impoverished country.

The drone fired eight missiles at a house where fighters were thought to be hiding in the Wadi al-Ain area of Hadramout province, a witness told Reuters. Eight people managed to escape, the witness added.

Washington, concerned about the spread of militancy in the Arabian Peninsula, has stepped up attacks by unmanned aircraft this year.

Wednesday's strike was the fourth reported in Hadramout in two weeks.


Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-yemen-qaedabre8840pv-20120905,0,7990719.story

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So, we are killing "suspected militants" in 2 countries without any declaration of war. ( Pakistan and Yemen).
and apparently with no accountability.

[DeSwiss]

1. Well......

...as long as they were ''suspected'' militants then it's all good.

- See?

[arcane1]

2. WTF is a "militant" anyway?

[Nihil]

6. A dead civilian of a foreign country. (n/t)

[woo me with science]

21. Anyone the drones killed or wounded. nt

[dipsydoodle]

3. I saw you note in the other post.

Curious coincidence as proof of the pudding.

[lib2DaBone]

4. What about American Citizens who appear "Suspicious" ?

President Obama will have you arrested and put in a secret Military prison with no charges, no lawyer, no Habeas Corpus. (NDAA) Administrative Subpoenas from the DEA are being forced on utility companies and citizens at an alarming rate... violating the 4th Amendment.

More people have been deported under President Obama than under George Bush.
More people have been put in prison under President Obama than George Bush.
More people have been arrested for non-violent MJ charges under President Bush than George Bush.

The point is.... Voters need to ask questions of Mr. Obama.... where does he really stand on these issues? Whose side is he on? Blind allegiance helps no one.

[Kolesar]

5. This shit never would have gone down before 9/11...eom

[truth2power]

7. The US bullies and terrorizes the entire globe, and anyone who opposes

our depradations, or is even THOUGHT to oppose such, i.e. suspected militant, becomes eligible to be vaporized by a hellfire missile.

Oh..."and their little dog, too" *cackle* Translation: anyone who happens to be standing around in the vicinity.

Ain't Amerika great? Ugh!

[Green_Lantern]

8. are you really disputing these were Al Qaeda fighters

Or saying the US military can't actually fight people we are at war with?

Maybe if we ask really nice they won't kill our soldiers.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. Yes, and no.

the article and the source does not claim these are Al Quada..only that they are "suspected" militants.

I was not aware we had declared war on Pakistan and Yeman.
Would appreciate any official links that say otherwise, for my edification.

Oh, and the drones are used by CIA, not "US military fighting people we are at war with".

[Green_Lantern]

11. the military uses drones all the time considering the Air Force are the ones flying them...

The CIA can work with military you know.

If Yemen and Pakistan were actually doing something about Al Qaeda militants attacking US soldiers and then hiding across the border we wouldn't need the drone strikes.

Also You don't need to declare war on Pakistan when we are likely getting their blessing.

[Ash_F]

14. The blessings of some of them

Last edited Sat Sep 8, 2012, 08:04 AM - Edit history (1)

Pakistan is an extremely politically divided country, near civil war, and the US military is fighting for one side(the side of the moderates). The people being bombed are basically the Pakistani version of the Tea party.

The conservative's position is that they have no representation therefore they must be militant.

The moderate establishment's position is that the conservatives are militant and therefore will not have representation.

Chicken and egg, and the violence goes on and on.

And of course the US comes in on the side of whoever represents the establishment(this time moderates) to bomb conservatives. In the past, in South America and Asia, they bombed the left because conservatives were the establishment. Always staying true to righteous values.

[Comrade Grumpy]

16. From which border region of Yemen are militants attacking our soldiers?

[rachel1]

9. What happened to due process? What about

the presumption of innocence? International sovereignty?

I wonder if anyone is also worried about potential blowback...

[Green_Lantern]

12. due process isn't required to kill enemy soldiers...

It'd be different if they were civilians living here.

Due process for what. Technically they committed no crime but attacking our soldiers.

[Nihil]

13. Due process is overrated when you have a Nobel Peace Prize.

>> The drone fired eight missiles at a house where fighters were thought to be hiding

> It'd be different if they were civilians living here.

They were civilians. They were just civilians who someone with a similar gung-ho "Team America Fuck Yeah"
attitude to many on this thread decided were a target and ordered a PS3-jockey to dump eight missiles
into their last known location.

There were 14 people in that house. 8 made it out again.


> Technically they committed no crime but attacking our soldiers.

Technically they committed no crime whatsoever.

They were *suspected* of attacking your soldiers.

Wave that flag sunshine, wave that flag with pride while the rest of the world looks on in disgust.

[Green_Lantern]

15. suspected is the word used by the article

I seriously doubt US intelligence simply "suspected" these were militants who were a threat to our soldiers.

The hub of activity for the targeted killings is the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center, where lawyers—there are roughly 10 of them, says Rizzo—write a cable asserting that an individual poses a grave threat to the United States. The CIA cables are legalistic and carefully argued, often running up to five pages. Michael Scheuer, who used to be in charge of the CIA’s Osama bin Laden unit, describes “a dossier,” or a “two-page document,” along with “an appendix with supporting information, if anybody wanted to read all of it.” The dossier, he says, “would go to the lawyers, and they would decide. They were very picky.” Sometimes, Scheuer says, the hurdles may have been too high. “Very often this caused a missed opportunity. The whole idea that people got shot because someone has a hunch—I only wish that was true. If it were, there would be a lot more bad guys dead.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/02/13/inside-the-killing-machine.html




I'm far from being a jingoist or saying "my country right or wrong" but sans leaving Afghanistan I see little alternative to this.

[Alamuti Lotus]

18. so people in eastern Yemen are a threat to your occupation forces in Afghanistan?

I fail to follow the illogic here..

[Green_Lantern]

19. Al Qaeda operates attacks out of Yemen...the guy killed in this strike

Was an operations leader.

I doubt the military killed some guy chosen at random to murder.

[Comrade Grumpy]

17. Which of our soldiers did these Yemeni "militants" attack?

[hack89]

20. Have you forgotten the USS Cole?

It is not hard to imagine groups in Yemen willing and plotting to kill Americans.