How do you define a war crime? Is the "War on Terror" a legitimate excuse to indiscriminately slaughter innocent civilians? Can everything be written off as "collateral damage"?
Here is Tony Snow exuding bravado after the AC-130 gunship attack on Somalia earlier in the week:
I think that, again, without talking about military issues, it is pretty clear that this administration continues to go after al Qaeda. We are interested in going after those who have perpetrated acts of violence against Americans, including bombings of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and we will continue to conduct whatever operations we can to go after that. We’ve made it clear that this is a global war on terror, and this is a reiteration of the fact that people who think that they’re going to try to establish safe haven for al Qaeda anyplace need to realize that we’re going to fight them.
Kick ass, Tony.
Here is the reality on the ground:
The herdsmen had gathered with their animals around large fires at night to ward off mosquitoes. But lit up by the flames, they became latest victims of America’s war on terror.
It was their tragedy to be misidentified in a secret operation by special forces attempting to kill three top al-Qa’ida leaders in south-ern Somalia.
Oxfam yesterday confirmed at least 70 nomads in the Afmadow district near the border with Kenya had been killed. The nomads were bombed at night and during the day while searching for water sources. Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Kenya has acknowledged that the onslaught on Islamist fighters failed to kill any of the three prime targets wanted for their alleged role in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
These innocents were killed in the name of the United States of America.
I think it is time now for an accounting of how many "terrorists" the Bush Administration has killed in its "War on Terror". I want to know what the ratio is between combatants and innocents killed. I want to know whether anyone in the White House even cares what the ratio is.
How many in this country care that 70 poor herdsmen in Somalia have been slaughtered? Is it this indifference that Mr. Bush counts on? How do you define a terrorist?
Does anyone still wonder why they hate us?
That is right. This ‘oops’ does not warrant a major apology (because well the ‘intention’ was afterall good) nor a major outcry in this country other than by the ‘usual suspects’ who are so easily dismissed as leftwing liberals who want nothing more than to embarrass the president.. I cannot imagine that this was a mistake though..they have too much technological advances not to see who their targets are..
I myself would be more likely to listen to Alex Jones’ take on it.. (see his prisonplanet.org or come site)..
Ingrid
“Does anyone still wonder why they hate us?”
Yes, the 30% who blindly support President Bush. They have no clue, never had one, and never will get one. They’re the ones who prop up this lame duck.
This reminds me of when Olmert declared that Israel had killed 400 civilians in Gaza – in reality, over half (206 people) were not involved in hostilities when they were killed.
The Freudian slips reveal the disregard those in power have for human life. However, they are only allowed to get away with it because people let them. Imagine if Tony Snow or George Bush called those that were killed on 9/11 terrorists…there’d be uproar, and rightly so. But because these people are far away, and because the public doesn’t really know who to trust for reliable information, those in power are allowed to get away with murder by alleging or implying or incinuating that the victims were doing something wrong. It’s very sad.
The administration’s moral calculus is pretty simple. If you were killed by American munitions, regardless of the circumstances, you’re a former terrorist. The Marines in Haditha learned this long ago. And all your neighbors who saw you killed and weren’t happy about it? “Future terrorists.” Send in the cluster bombs.
Mandrake, you know, the only good terrorist is a dead terrorist. And clearly the munitions were fired with the intention of killing terrorists, so if you happened to have been killed by one fired in your general direction, it follows that you are a terrorist.
What but the people still alive living on dirt and no water! What are their saying about us the USA the land of the free. We have big hearts and love them to death with smart bombs that kill only bad people. It now being said we have kill over one MILLION people. Do we believe that their were all bad people have you see the babies that die? I dont think you held a die baby in your hand blow up. What is like to do that? You never done that and why not? You want war hold a die baby that have lost all of her limes to a smart bomb. You now have handicap people blowing up bomb to kill the same people that killed his baby. He dose not the name of the man that drop the smart bomb just the he on the side as all the same people that kill people and destroy his country looking for a few bad guys. Why are American kids killing babies and them being kill trying to stop some bad guy that some old fart said he is there. (looking for WMD that were never there)Do some old fart lie? And this old fart he dont like some other old fart. Why dont the old farts fight their own fight? And let the babies grow up.