'Dozens dead' in US drone strike

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

At least 45 people have died in a missile strike by a US drone aircraft in Pakistan, officials there have said.

The people killed in South Waziristan region had been attending a funeral for others killed in a US drone strike earlier on Tuesday.

Intelligence officials said at least 45 people had been killed and dozens more injured in the later strike, when two missiles were fired.

But a local official told BBC News the death toll was more than 50.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8115814.stm

[htuttle]

1. So, we're theoretically *trying* to do this, right?

Why?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. Now lemme see- killing citizens mourning citizens killed earlier...

I don't know about you, but dammit I'm PROUD to be an American.

And yes, for the obvious-challenged among us: :sarcasm:

[thereismore]

3. At this rate we'll kill them all soon. nt

[stranger81]

6. Jesus H. Christ.

Winning hearts and minds, aren't we.

[MellowDem]

4. Mourn Neda one minute...

Kill 45 the next. Kinda makes soft diplomacy hard to do.

[scubadude]

5. Through the fog of distance mistakes are innevitable, and why I think this disgrace should end!

Scuba

[excess_3]

15. worse, is the fog of being shot at ...

and resulting mistakes

[Dark]

7. That's kind of ironic.

RIP.

[Devil_Fish]

8. Why are we doing this?

I really want to know. Seriously, are they terrorist? Al Quada? Taliban? Are they a threat to U.S. in any way? When did Sky Net come on line and gain self awareness? Who is more of a terrorist? the person who straps a bomb to his back and kills civilans at a disco tec, or the person who orders some one to push a button which drops a bomb from a remote controled air craft to kill civilans at a funeral?

What is the deal? Is this not a war crime? how is it even legal to do this?

[asteroid2003QQ47]

10. Why? Because that's what Empires do.

Uncle Sam kills over 18,000 of his own people annually and you expect him to give a shit about
non-white people thousands of miles away!?
------------------------------------
Today, 46 million people have no health insurance and even more are underinsured with high deductibles and co-payments. At a time when 60 million people, including many with insurance, do not have access to a medical home base, more than 18,000 Americans die every year from preventable illnesses.
--Bernie Sanders Op-Ed: The private health industry's time is up

This is also part of his statement from today's health care meeting in the Senate.
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=314572

[Flaneur]

9. The article says the attack was on Pakistani Taliban.

They are allies of/related to the Afghan Taliban, but distinct from them. Their beef is with Pakistan, not the US. Why are we attacking the Pakistan Taliban? Holy mother of God, we've got wars going on all the way from Iraq to Afghanistan (and don't forget Iran in the middle), and now we're going to war against a faction in Pakistan, too? No wonder we can't afford health care.

[Flaneur]

11. Actually, it only says it was in a region that is one of their strongholds.

I guess we'll find out in a day or two who the targets were.

[ShortnFiery]

12. IMO, there's nothing more COWARDLY than execution via Drone Attack.

I'm ashamed of my country when they send Drones or bomb from above.

Why? Far too many INNOCENTS are killed. :thumbsdown:

[AverageJoe5]

13. Is Pres. Obama "appalled and outraged" by this?

Pres. Obama said he was "appalled and outraged" by the Iranian government's use of force to stop post-election riots in Iran.

I'm waiting for the president to say he is equally (if not more) outraged by this drone incident, and that it will not happen again.

[ohio2007]

14. Seems he gave the OK for the double drone strike. "People" attended a funeral for the six killed

earlier in the day and
Barack gave the OK for the 2nd strike ( based on good intelligence )so hey

....fuck em

In the meantime, some may take solace and cheer on the Taliban by the way they are winning hearts and minds;
:sarcasm:

Pakistan villagers revolt against Taleban after militants want women they widowed


It was the Taleban’s demand to take the women they had widowed that was the last straw for the residents of Upper Dir.When the militants arrived in their mountainous corner of northwestern Pakistan in February the locals cautiously welcomed them, thinking they were waging jihad against foreign troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

Some even joined them, attracted by the five or six pounds a day they paid. Over the next three months, however, Upper Dir’s residents were increasingly angered by the Taleban’s criminal activities and disrespect for local customs, according to residents and Pakistani officials.

In early June elders asked them to leave the five villages they had occupied. The Taleban responded on June 5 with a suicide attack on a local mosque that killed 39 people.

The next day they told the elders to give them the women who had been widowed in the attack.


snip


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6557586.ece

Just saying, the devil is in the articles details, not the two paragraph spin "snips" allowed

[Flaneur]

22. "Fuck 'em."

If Obama ordered a drone strike that kills innocent civilians, "fuck 'em"?

Granted, it's not clear yet who the victims of these attacks were, but it was a funeral party, and that's still a mighty cavalier and, dare I say it, Ugly American remark. Very ugly.

I guess the blood of Pakistanis isn't the same lovely shade of red as the blood of Iranians.

And such acts can have consequences, as NATO and the US forces in Afghanistan are finding out:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/06/200962317958264507.html

Potential backlash

Pakistan's military mounted an operation earlier this month against Mehsud in South Waziristan.

But our correspondent said Tuesday's attack is likely to cause considerable anger and backlash in the country.

"It may play into the hands of elements like Mehsud because the attack took place on a funeral - there are cultural sensitivities here as well," he said.

"Such attacks are likely to complicate the situation for the Pakistani military because they have to be equally sensitive to public opinion in that area - something that is not going to be helped by the drones."

Frequent attacks by pilotless US drone aircraft have been heavily criticised by Pakistani leaders for killing innocent bystanders and infringing upon national sovereignty.

[rayofreason]

18. Quien es mas macho?

I'm with you. None of this killer droid stuff. Send in Rambo. That is much more manly! After all, head-chopping, gay-stoning Jihadis deserve the best. Even better if we have to kill lots of foot-soldier-cannon-fodder to get to the nasty leadership. Makes for a much better movie. Just like WWII. Think how boring it would have all been if we had been able to vaporize Hitler in his Volkswagen with a Hellfire.

[Bonobo]

20. 100% agree. 1000%.

[Arrowhead2k1]

16. And the next day, we'll wonder why they hate us so much...

[rayofreason]

17. Hmm...

That's a lot to be killed by a single Hellfire missile. I wonder if the funeral was for my old buddy C-4......

[Bonobo]

19. Worse than Pearl Harbor.

Not a military target. So it's worse. Anyone want to argue that?

[laststeamtrain]

21. Daily Times (Pak): US missile strikes kill 51 in South Waziristan

US missile strikes kill 51 in South Waziristan

* Taliban official says Baitullah Mehsud was in area, escaped unhurt

PESHAWAR: Two suspected US missile strikes killed at least 51 Taliban in South Waziristan on Tuesday, where the army is poised for an attack on Baitullah Mehsud, officials said.

A security official told Reuters on condition of anonymity the first drone fired three missiles, killing six and wounding seven. “A missile attack by a suspected US drone took place in rugged mountainous terrain in Neej Narai in South Waziristan,” said a security official on condition of anonymity. He said the first drone fired three missiles on Tuesday morning, adding that “six militants were killed and seven others wounded in the attack”. Another security official confirmed the incident and casualties, saying the missiles had destroyed a compound, a bunker and two vehicles of the Taliban.

Second strike: As the Taliban gathered for funeral prayers later in the day, another drone aircraft dropped three more missiles, officials said. The second bombing killed at least 45 Taliban on Tuesday. “Three missiles were fired by drones as people were dispersing after offering funeral prayers for Niaz Wali,” an intelligence official said referring to a Taliban commander killed in the earlier drone attack on Tuesday. “Our agents in the area informed us that 11 militants were confirmed dead. We have reports of dozens wounded,” another security official based in the northwest told AFP. He said that hundreds of militants had assembled for the funeral prayers. “The reports we are receiving from the area said that the death toll may rise as hundreds of militants were attending the funeral prayers,” he added.

Not hurt: Mehsud, the Taliban chief accused of plotting the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, had been in the area but was not hurt, a Taliban official said. The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy unmanned drones in the region. agencies...http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C06%5C24%5Cstory_24-6-2009_pg7_43

[Arctic Dave]

23. I sometimes wonder what the reaction would be if a miltary funeral

Was blown up in the US. Should I give a rats ass if it does?