"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)
"If you go to the village of Al-Majalah in Yemen, where I was, and you see the unexploded clusterbombs and you have the list and photographic evidence, as I do—the women and children that represented the vast majority of the deaths in this first strike that Obama authorized on Yemen—those people were murdered by President Obama, on his orders, because there was believed to be someone from Al Qaeda in that area. There’s only one person that’s been identified that had any connection to Al Qaeda there. And 21 women and 14 children were killed in that strike and the U.S. tried to cover it up, and say it was a Yemeni strike, and we know from the Wikileaks cables that David Petraeus conspired with the president of Yemen to lie to the world about who did that bombing. It’s murder—it’s mass murder—when you say, ‘We are going to bomb this area’ because we believe a terrorist is there, and you know that women and children are in the area. The United States has an obligation to not bomb that area if they believe that women and children are there. I’m sorry, that’s murder."
Jeremy Scahill calls President Barack Obama a murderer. (via aheram)
(Source: againstpower)
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)
America officially at war with Yemen as ground troops enter the country
A group of about 20 U.S. special forces are on the ground in Yemen, helping the government fight insurgents in the south of the country, officials say.
Their work includes using high-tech equipment to help the Yemeni military locate targets, the Los Angeles Times reported. The new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadid, is reported to be more willing to work with the United States than his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down after months of protests.
“There are ways of checking their homework,” a senior U.S. defense official said. “They’ve been trusted partners.”
Antiwar.com’s Jason Ditz reminds us that just days ago, the official word is that the United States is not interested in sending in ground troops:
The revelation comes just days after the most recent denial by Leon Panetta, who insisted that there was no consideration of US ground troops inside Yemen. President Obama had likewise ruled out such a move repeatedly.
Though this is the first official acknowledgement of the mission, the Pentagon accidentally confirmed the operation in early March, when it announced that a US “security team,” which was never reported deployed in the first place, had come under attack in Aden.
I am hoping that the likes of Sen. Rand Paul and other antiwar foes in Congress will bring attention to this, but I suspect that this will not garner any attention in the corporate media. Hopefully, with enough noise in the liberty movement, this very important issue will register in people’s radars. And with government debt spinning out-of-control, could we afford yet another illegal and expensive war?
(Source: againstpower)
"CAN WE NOT DRONE PEOPLE
THANK YOU"
ACLU Files FOIA for Obama’s Mass Murder Missile Strike in Yemen
From ACLU’s Blog of Rights:
Today the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information about a horrific U.S. missile strike that killed dozens of civilians in Yemen.
This was the Obama administration’s first known missile strike in Yemen, carried out with one or more cruise missiles launched from an American warship or submarine on December 17, 2009. The U.S. military reportedly used cluster bombs, killing at least 41 people in the remote mountain village of al-Majalah in Yemen’s Abyan province. The government was purportedly targeting “militants,” but those killed include at least 21 children and 14 women. Entire families were wiped out. It is the worst reported loss of civilian life from a U.S. targeted killing strike in Yemen to date.
…The U.S. asserts the right to use lethal force against suspected terrorists anywhere in the world, a claim that is legally questionable and deeply controversial, not least because killings far from any battlefield increase the risk that innocent civilians will die. Government officials repeatedly minimize or deny civilian deaths caused by the targeted killing program, but increasing reports of civilian casualties caused by strikes in Yemen, Pakistan, and elsewhere raise serious questions about whether the government is violating international and domestic law by failing to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and by using lethal force away from active battlefields.
(Source: moralanarchism)
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)
