January 3rd: 3-4 killed by a drone strike on a car near Mir Ali, North Waziristan. CNN reports the drone fired first on the vehicle, then on rescuers who went to help those in the car, injuring several more. The death toll is expected to rise, according to local security sources. #pakistan #drone #drones (at Mubarak Shahi, North Waziristan)
U.N. announces investigation of Obama's deadly drone attacks, special rapporteur says some may be war crimes
The United Nations is to set up a dedicated investigations unit in Geneva early next year to examine the legality of drone attacks in cases where civilians are killed in so-called “targeted” counter-terrorism operations.
The announcement was made by Ben Emmerson QC, a UN special rapporteur, in a speech to Harvard law school in which he condemned secret rendition and waterboarding as crimes under international law. His forthright comments, directed at both US presidential candidates, will be seen as an explicit challenge to the prevailing US ideology of the global war on terror.
Earlier this summer, Emmerson, who monitors counter-terrorism for the UN, called for effective investigations into drone attacks. Some US drone strikes in Pakistan may amount to war crimes, Emmerson warned.
In his Harvard speech, he said: “If the relevant states are not willing to establish effective independent monitoring mechanisms … then it may in the last resort be necessary for the UN to act.
“Together with my colleague Christof Heyns, [the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings], I will be launching an investigation unit within the special procedures of the [UN] Human Rights Council to inquire into individual drone attacks.”
Embarrassing, shameful that it is going to take an international body to hold President Barack Obama and his administration accountable for the supreme crimes against humanity committed they have committed against Pakistan and other countries. Our aspirational Peace Prize Winner might end up becoming America’s First War Criminal President.
(Source: againstpower)
US Drones Kill Up To 3 in Pakistan, ‘Not Clear’ Whether They Had ‘Any Link to Militancy’
Your Waziristan update of the week:
A US drone fired two missiles at near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least one person and possibly three, although officials said “It was not clear whether the three dead were men or women or whether they had any link to militancy,” according to the Associated Press.
The attack occurred in the North Waziristan tribal area. Pakistani intelligence officials provided the AP with conflicting accounts of how many were killed, though, and could not confirm that those killed had any connection to militancy at all.
The intelligence officials also confirmed that a cow and a buffalo were killed in the drone strikes.
The Obama administration has waged the drone war in Pakistan for nearly four years now, and while certain officials have spoken publicly about it, the program is kept technically so that the administration can escape any legal scrutiny or avoid being forced to release information to the public.
The Pakistani government has persistently denounced the unilateral bombing of their country by the US, saying its a violation of the law and of their sovereignty.
A few thousand people have been killed in the drone war, only 2 percent of which, according to a recent academic study, were named as high-value militants.
“Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning,” the study by researchers at the Stanford and NYU schools of law found. “Their presence terrorizes men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities. Those living under drones have to face the constant worry that a deadly strike may be fired at any moment, and the knowledge that they are powerless to protect themselves. These fears have affected behavior.”
"Indeed, Obama’s first authorized drone attack in Yemen led to the deaths of 14 women and 21 children, and only one al-Qaeda affiliate."
http://lewrockwell.com/whitehead/whitehead47.1.html (via evanmille)
Obama terror drones: CIA tactics in Pakistan include targeting rescuers and funerals
February 4, 2012
“…research by the Bureau has found that since Obama took office three years ago, between 282 and 535 civilians have been credibly reported as killed including more than 60 children. A three month investigation including eye witness reports has found evidence that at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims. More than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners. The tactics have been condemned by leading legal experts.
Although the drone attacks were started under the Bush administration in 2004, they have been stepped up enormously under Obama.”
It is just beyond me to see how this is defensible.
Obama pledges no more wars unless 'absolutely necessary'
President Barack Obama honored veterans on Monday by noting “the light of a new day” of having U.S. troops home from Iraq and returning soon from Afghanistan, while promising not to send soldiers back to war without a clear need.
Obama did not mention tension with Iran and Syria in his remarks to veterans and military families at a hot, sunny Memorial Day ceremony, focusing instead on the wars started by his predecessor, George W. Bush, that he wound down as president.
“After a decade under the dark cloud of war, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon,” he said at Arlington National Cemetery, drawing applause when he noted the “milestone” of it being the first Memorial Day in nine years without Americans fighting and dying in Iraq.
“As commander in chief, I can tell you that sending our troops into harm’s way is the most wrenching decision that I have to make,” Obama said shortly after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“I can promise you I will never do so unless it is absolutely necessary and that when we do, we must give our troops a clear mission and the full support of a grateful nation.”
Later on Monday, Obama will attend a ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, introducing Obama at the Arlington military cemetery, said that 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War. More than 4,000 Americans died in Iraq from 2003 to 2011, and nearly 2,000 have died in Afghanistan from the war’s start in 2001 to date.
Who needs a ground offensive, when you’ve merely evolved the apparatus/methods/means of war.
See / Meanwhile -
- US drone ‘kills six’ in Pakistan’s tribal north-west,
- Up to 34 Dead in US-Aided Yemen Offensive,
- Hundreds Die as US-Backed Yemen Offensive Escalates,
- US Drone Strikes Increase in Pakistan: 31 Killed Since Wednesday,
- Nato air strike ‘kills Afghan family’,
- Panetta Vows ‘Enduring Presence’ in Afghanistan,
etc.
Good joke Obama.
(via lalibertarienne)
Six children were among seven civilians killed in a NATO airstrike in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Thursday.
Abdul Samad, an uncle of four of the children who were killed, disputed the government’s version of the attack. He said his relatives were working in fields near their village when they were attacked without warning by an aircraft.
His brother-in-law, Mohammad Rahim, 50, had his two sons and three daughters with him. They were between 4 and 12 years old and all were killed, except an 8-year-old daughter, who was badly wounded, Mr. Samad said.
“There were no Taliban in the field, this is a baseless allegation that the Taliban were planting mines,” Mr. Samad said. “I have been to the scene and haven’t found a single bit of evidence of bombs or any other weapons. The Americans did a serious crime against innocent children, they will never ever be forgiven.”
It’s no wonder that so many people resent America and might want to retaliate when we’re constantly murdering children like this.
(Source: 21st-century-classical-liberal)
Facebook. Ugh.
- Picture of a protest sign on someone's wall: Obama is *not* a brown-skinned anti-war socialist who gives away free healthcare. You're thinking of jesus.
- Me: I'm pretty sure Jesus never advocated any kind of government welfare.
- Me: And clearly Obama is not anti-war, considering he's started new bombing operations in Yemen and Somalia, expanded the bombing of Pakistan, and started a new (and unconstitutional) war against Libya.
- A girl named Emily: He did give away free healthcare though... and food... and wine.
- Me: No one [rational] is arguing against any kind of help or aid to the impoverished. [Rational] people are arguing against it being the government that provides it.
(via enemyofthestatist)
Whoops
fucking republicrats
(Source: 21st-century-classical-liberal, via erintheheroine-deactivated20111)
