Drones sure can kill a lot of people but they haven't proved a very good idea, considering the resulting Hate America passion.

Drones sure can kill a lot of people but they haven't proved a very good idea, considering the resulting Hate America passion.

And we care because?

60 drone hits kill 14 al-Qaeda men, 687 civilians

Friday, April 10, 2009

By Amir Mir

LAHORE: Of the 60 cross-border predator strikes carried out by the Afghanistan-based American drones in Pakistan between January 14, 2006 and April 8, 2009, only 10 were able to hit their actual targets, killing 14 wanted al-Qaeda leaders, besides perishing 687 innocent Pakistani civilians. The success percentage of the US predator strikes thus comes to not more than six per cent.

Figures compiled by the Pakistani authorities show that a total of 701 people, including 14 al-Qaeda leaders, have been killed since January 2006 in 60 American predator attacks targeting the tribal areas of Pakistan. Two strikes carried out in 2006 had killed 98 civilians while three attacks conducted in 2007 had slain 66 Pakistanis, yet none of the wanted al-Qaeda or Taliban leaders could be hit by the Americans right on target. However, of the 50 drone attacks carried out between January 29, 2008 and April 8, 2009, 10 hit their targets and killed 14 wanted al-Qaeda operatives. Most of these attacks were carried out on the basis of intelligence believed to have been provided by the Pakistani and Afghan tribesmen who had been spying for the US-led allied forces stationed in Afghanistan.

The remaining 50 drone attacks went wrong due to faulty intelligence information, killing hundreds of innocent civilians, including women and children. The number of the Pakistani civilians killed in those 50 attacks stood at 537, in which 385 people lost their lives in 2008 and 152 people were slain in the first 99 days of 2009 (between January 1 and April 8).

And we care because?

Of the 50 drone attacks, targeting the Pakistani tribal areas since January 2008, 36 were carried out in 2008 and 14 were conducted in the first 99 days of 2009. Of the 14 attacks targeting Pakistan in 2009, three were carried out in January, killing 30 people, two in February killing 55 people, five in March killing 36 people and four were conducted in the first nine days of April, killing 31 people.

Of the 14 strikes carried out in the first 99 days of April 2009, only one proved successful, killing two most wanted senior al-Qaeda leaders - Osama al Kini and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan. Both had lost their lives in a New Year’s Day drone strike carried out in the South Waziristan region on January 1, 2009.

The American forces stationed in Afghanistan carried out nine aerial strikes between September 3 and September 25, 2008, killing 57 people and injuring 38 others. The attacks were launched on September 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 15, 17, 22 and September 27. However, the September 3, 2008 American action was unique in the sense that two CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters landed in the village of Zawlolai in the South Waziristan Agency with ground troops from the US Special Operation Forces, fired at three houses and killed 17, including five women and four sleeping children.

Besides the two helicopters carrying the US Special Forces Commandos, two jet fighters and two gun-ship helicopters provided the air cover for the half-an-hour American operation, more than a kilometer inside the Pakistani border.

And we care because?

60 drone hits kill 14 al-Qaeda men, 687 civilians

• CIA drone operators lack the “superb intel” needed to prevent civilian casualties, but are firing their weapons anyway, causing them to kill ten times as many civilians as suspected terrorists.

Cindy McCain Bankrolled Conference That Called for Ban on Mercenaries
Posted by Jeremy Scahill, Rebel Reports at 8:30 PM on October 16, 2009.

A little-publicized U.S. Naval Academy conference named after Senator John McCain and bankrolled by his wealthy wife, Cindy, issued a call earlier this year for the U.S. government to ban the use of armed private security contractors like Blackwater in U.S. war zones, stating bluntly, "contractors should not be deployed as security guards, sentries, or even prison guards within combat areas."

"[T]he use of deadly force must be entrusted only to those whose training, character and accountability are most worthy of the nation's trust: the military," reads the executive summary of the U.S. Naval Academy’s 9th Annual McCain Conference on Ethics and Military Leadership, which was held in April at the Annapolis Naval Station. "The military profession carefully cultivates an ethic of 'selfless service,' and develops the virtues that can best withstand combat pressures and thus achieve the nation's objectives in an honorable way. By contrast, most corporate ethical standards and available regulatory schemes are ill-suited for this environment."

In 2001, Cindy McCain, who may be worth as much as $100 million, first endowed the McCain conference "in honor of her husband" with a $210,000 gift that was specifically intended to fund conferences that would "bring together key military officers and civilian academics responsible for ethics education and character developments."
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/world/143334/cindy_mccain_bankrolled_conference_that_called_for_ban_on_mercenaries/?comments=view&cID=1348071&pID=1346742

I think we should care because they are innocent human beings who had nothing to do with what happened here in 2001.

Pakistani people were standing up asking Clinton how many more innocent lives they want to take with all of those Drone Attacks ... they want their country back, they don't want us there killing them just because we are occupying Iraq and trying to nation build in Afghanistan (because we sure aren't hunting Al Qaeda or OBL ... they're all long gone).

If someone has a better way of doing it, I am sure the pentagon would love to hear from them.

And we care because?

If someone has a better way of doing it, I am sure the pentagon would love to hear from them.

You really just don't care about any other human life ... other than your own!!!! And your posts reflect that.

Maybe someone needs to remind the Pentagon that we aren't supposed to be killing people in Pakistan!!!!

The resignation of Matthew Hoh, a senior Foreign Service officer and former Marine captain, reverberated as far as the White House, not only because of his superb credentials but also because of his view that the presence of US troops is fueling the insurgency.

Bottom line is that if were not gonna fight this war to win then we should count our losses and pull out.

A senior US official in Afghanistan has resigned in protest at a war he says cannot be won — as eight more US troops died yesterday making it the deadliest month in the eight-year conflict.

... its still better to use tehy fly trap startergy of fighting them there than await them to come here, by here i mean Europe or the USA.

Is it Time to Bring the Troops Home?

I think it would be stupid to send more troops for the insurgents to use as walking, breathing, target practice ... BRING THE TROOPS HOME!!!!!

It will be interesing to see if he gains or loses support among liberals if he sends more troops.

They start this thing and then want to send more and more to be maimed, mutilated, die ... typical Republican response. Nothing new ... eh?

Quit blaming the Republicans in this situation. Well, for the continuing situation at least.

You either want the troops home....or you want them to finish the job.

Killing of 5 British soldiers raises questions about infiltration of Afghan police force

KABUL (AP) — The killing of five British troops by a rogue Afghan policeman underlines concerns about training and discipline within the ranks and possible insurgent infiltration of a police force that the U.S. hopes will be its ticket out of Afghanistan someday.

The attack caused anguish in Britain, where public support for the war has been waning. Britain is the largest contributor to NATO forces in Afghanistan after the United States, and its continued presence here is central to President Barack Obama's strategy as he weighs dispatching tens of thousands more U.S. troops.

The five British soldiers, who had been advising Afghan policemen, were shot and killed Tuesday at a checkpoint where they were living in the volatile southern province of Helmand. Another six soldiers were wounded, as were two Afghan policemen when the soldiers returned fire, officials said.

The gunman escaped and his motive was unclear.

I don't know that there ever was "a job".

Who the hell do you think we're going after at this point? OBL is long gone as are the Al Qaeda.

Who would you have us go after? What job are we to finish? We're not supposed to be there for "Nation Building".

I see the Afghan Police have again opened fire on the very people who are supposed to be there helping them ... now they shot some UK soldiers to death ... friendly fire? Hmmm ... it's only been about month since an Afghan policeman fired on American soldiers during a joint patrol in Wardak Province. It killed two Americans.

Who would you have us go after? What job are we to finish? We're not supposed to be there for "Nation Building".
I note you were not able to comment appropriately on that one. Cat got your tongue?

it's the Republicans that I have a problem with ... specifically their total lack of regard for their fellow Americans ... both here and abroad ... including war zones.

They have no regard for life and so it doesn't bother them at all to send their military personnel into a no win situation that is just going to cost our troops their lives.

As long as the Republicans display such despicable behavior with regards to a total lack of concern about their fellow Americans who are dieing at the rate of over 120 per day for those with no health insurance (over 45,000 per year) ... then there is no way anyone could say they might even come close to the same high standards the Democrats are displaying.

98-0. Every Democrat in the Senate voted to go into Afghanistan.