Showing posts with label Civilian Casualties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Civilian Casualties. Show all posts
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Yup… They LUV us out there: “Afghan flag-raising in NATO offensive draws gunfire”
(also contains a few bars of “When Johnny DID NOT Come Marching Home”)
MARJAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) – U.S. Marines came under intense fire on Sunday after taking over a building in the heart of a Taliban stronghold targeted by a NATO-led offensive designed to put the Afghan government back in charge.Taliban fighters unleashed automatic gunfire at NATO helicopters flying in and out of the town of Marjah, and fired on Marines at a ceremony to raise the Afghan flag over a building to mark progress in the offensive.
Captain Ryan Sparks compared the intensity of the fighting to the U.S.-led offensive against militants in the Iraqi town of Fallujah in 2004.
“In Fallujah, it was just as intense… More @ Reuters (India)
H/t: MilNews, Taliban communique watch.
Meanwhile, we actively seek to lose the support of the civilian population:
12 Afghan Civilians Dead From U.S. Artillery Mistake In Helmand
Two rockets from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launched at insurgents firing upon Afghan and ISAF forces impacted approximately 300 meters off their intended target, killing 12 civilians in Nad Ali district, Helmand province today.Our offensive in Helmand province is proving to be just that... offensive. Even as we scatter the 'insurgents' 'into the hills', we do our own sort of murderous PR with the civilian population, who are now more likely to help the rebel forces now than before.
ISAF Commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal conveyed his apologies to President Hamid Karzai for this unfortunate incident.
“We deeply regret this tragic loss of life,” said McChrystal. “The current operation in Central Helmand is aimed at restoring security and stability to this vital area of Afghanistan. It’s regrettable that in the course of our joint efforts, innocent lives were lost. We extend our heartfelt sympathies and will ensure we do all we can to avoid future incidents.” [ISAF press release via Firedoglake]
This is how to lose a war, but for a while, the CIA's friends (Like Hamid Karzai's brother) will have control of the global Opium supply once again.
Expect the price of Heroin on the streets of the West to decline dramatically over the next few months and years. Just the thing to help those countries citizens forget about their disintegrating, looted-by-their-own-power elite, economies.
Why do they do it you ask?
President Obama said he was going to bring the troops home!
"In discussing President Obama’s expansion of the US attack on Afghanistan and Pakistan, it is important not to focus on Obama as a personality but on the social system to which he is committed..."For more, see: Obama's Imperial War: An Anarchist Response, at The Anarchist's Library
"As has been pointed out, his stated reasons for the war do not make much sense: in order to get out of Afghanistan, the US will send more troops into Afghanistan. The US needs to fight Al Queda, even though there are now only about 100 Queda militants left in Afghanistan; the Queda base is mostly in Pakistan (which Obama slurred over by speaking of “the border”) but the US will not be sending troops there (just secret attacks by drone missiles and CIA operatives). More generally, the US supposedly has to strengthen the resolve of the government of Pakistan...by sending more troops to Afghanistan. The US hopes to win over the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan by sending more non-Muslim, only-English-speaking, troops, which is sure to antagonize the people of the region. In 18 months, the US forces are supposed to transform the Karzai regime from one of the most corrupt, incompetent, and illegitimate states on earth, to a stable government (never mind a democracy). The effects of the mistaken US policies of 8 years can be reversed in 18 months (on the assumption that US forces will really “start” to withdraw in 18 months; promises are cheap; the US is still in Iraq). All of this is simply unbelievable and it is hard to think that an intelligent man such as Obama believes any of it.
Why then, really, is the US sending more troops into the region? Closer to Obama’s thinking are the expressions in his December 1, West Point, address, when he announced..."
Thursday, January 8, 2009
"No, no, no," he said. "We should be hitting the greenhouses." - Israelis Watch the Fighting in Gaza ... They Come With Binoculars and Lawn Chairs
But IF they get killed, I'm SURE it'll be blamed on the Gazans or Hamas by the IDF's spin cyclers.
For those looking for real solutions, and dialogue, Da' Buffalo highly recommends Bitterlemons(War in Gaza II , January 5, 2009) and Bitterlemons-International (War in Gaza: the regional dimension). The current issues at the time of this posting are linked.
The squandering of a birthright by a PERVERSE society"If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with all others justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless, the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place…then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever." -Jeremiah 7:5-7
(Note the adult 'supervision' of these psychologically abused Israeli children)
"Jocelyn Znaty, a stout 60-year-old nurse for Magen David Adom, the Israeli counterpart of the Red Cross, can hardly contain her glee at the site of exploding mortars below in Gaza.
"Look at that," she shouts, clapping her hands as four artillery rounds pound the territory in quick succession. "Bravo! Bravo!"
Wall Street Journal Online
JANUARY 8, 2009
Israelis Watch the Fighting in Gaza From a Hilly Vantage Point They Come With Binoculars and Lawn Chairs; Nurse Znaty: 'I'm Sorry, but I'm Happy'
By CHARLES LEVINSON
Farnaz Fassihi in Rafah, Egypt and Margaret Coker in Tel Aviv contributed to this article.
GAZA BORDER -- Moti Danino sat Monday in a canvas lawn chair on a sandy hilltop on Gaza's border, peering through a pair of binoculars at distant plumes of smoke rising from the besieged territory.
An unemployed factory worker, he comes here each morning to watch Israel's assault on Hamas from what has become the war's peanut gallery -- a string of dusty hilltops close to the border that offer panoramic views across northern Gaza.
He is one of dozens of Israelis who have arrived from all over Israel, some with sack lunches and portable radios tuned to the latest reports of the battle raging in front of them. Some, like Mr. Danino, are here to egg on friends and family members in the fight.
Others have made the trek, they say, to witness firsthand a military operation -- so far, widely popular inside Israel -- against Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip.
Over the weekend, four teenagers sat on a hill near Mr. Danino's, oohing and aahing at the airstrikes. Nadav Zebari, who studies Torah in Jerusalem, was eating a cheese sandwich and sipping a Diet Coke.
"I've never watched a war before," he said. A group of police officers nearby took turns snapping pictures of one another with smoking Gaza as a backdrop. "I want to feel a part of the war," one said, before correcting himself with the official government designation for the assault. "I mean operation. It's not a war." [In Full @ WSJ Online]
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Master Plan or Screw Up? Georgia and U.S. Strategy - Counterpunch, And A Statement From The Georgia Peace Committee
H/t to OpEdNews Ossetia - The Politics of Naming and Blaming
The conflict in South Ossetia may be in standoff mode, but it certainly isn't over. It has been said repeatedly in reports that the conflict is deep rooted and complex.
Isn't everything?
The entire responsibility for this fratricidal war, for thousands of children, women and elderly dead people, for the inhabitants of South Ossetia and of Georgia falls exclusively on the current President, on the Parliament and on the Government of Georgia. The irresponsibility and the adventurism of the Saakashvili regime have no limits. The President of Georgia and his team, undoubtedly, are criminals and must be held responsible. --Georgia Peace Committee, Official Statement
Image Courtesy Of Telegraph.co.ukMaster Plan or Screw Up?
Georgia and U.S. Strategy
August 14, 2008
By MIKE WHITNEY
The American-armed and trained Georgian army swarmed into South Ossetia last Thursday, killing an estimated 2,000 civilians, sending 40,000 South Ossetians fleeing over the Russian border, and destroying much of the capital, Tskhinvali.In Full @ Counterpunch Magazine
The attack was unprovoked and took place a full 24 hours before even ONE Russian soldier set foot in South Ossetia. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Americans still believe that the Russian army invaded Georgian territory first.
The BBC, AP, NPR, the New York Times and the rest of the establishment media have consistently and deliberately misled their readers into believing that the violence in South Ossetia was initiated by the Kremlin.
Let's be clear, it wasn't. In truth, there is NO dispute about the facts except among the people who rely the western press for their information.
Despite its steady loss of credibility, the corporate media continues to operate as the propaganda-arm of the Pentagon.
PEACE COMMITTEE OF GEORGIA
0182. Apt. 2, quarter 8, house 10, massif 3, Tbilisi, Georgia
Tel:++ 995 93 761363 Fax/Tel:++ 995 32 731516
E-mail:[EMAIL REDACTED]
Declaration of the Georgian Peace Committee
Once more Georgia was launched into a situation of chaos and bloodshed. A new fratricidal war exploded with renewed strength on Georgian soil.
To our great disappointment, the alerts of the Georgian Peace Committee and of progressive personalities of Georgia on the pernicious character of the militarization of the country and on the danger of a pro-fascist and nationalist policy had no effect.
The authorities of Georgia once again organized a bloody war, feeling the support of some western countries and of regional and international organizations. It will take decades to cleanse the shame poured by the current holders of the power over the Georgian people.
The Georgian army--armed and trained by U.S. instructors and using also U.S. armaments--subjected the city of Tskhinvali to a barbaric destruction. The bombings killed Ossetian civilians, our brothers and sisters, children, women and elderly people. Over 2,000 inhabitants of Tskhinvali and of its surroundings died.
Hundreds of civilians of Georgian nationality also died, both in the conflict zone as well as on the entire territory of Georgia.
The Georgian Peace Committee expresses its deep condolences to the relatives and friends of those who have perished.
The entire responsibility for this fratricidal war, for thousands of children, women and elderly dead people, for the inhabitants of South Ossetia and of Georgia falls exclusively on the current President, on the Parliament and on the Government of Georgia. The irresponsibility and the adventurism of the Saakashvili regime have no limits. The President of Georgia and his team, undoubtedly, are criminals and must be held responsible.
The Georgian Peace Committee, together with all the progressive parties and social movements of Georgia, will struggle to assure that the organizers of this monstrous genocide have a severe and legitimate punishment.
The Georgian Peace Committee declares and asks broad public opinion not to identify the current Georgian leadership with the people of Georgia, with the Georgian nation, and appeals to all to support the Georgian people in the struggle against the criminal regime of Saakashvili.
We appeal to all the political forces of Georgia, the social movements and the people of Georgia to unite in order to free the country from the Russian-phobic and pro-fascist anti popular regime of Saakashvili!
The Georgian Peace Committee Tbilisi, Aug. 11, 2008
Related @ Technorati: Abkhazia, Bush Administration, Caucasus, Central Asia, Cold War, Diplomatic Relations, Disinformation, Georgia, Georgian Government, Georgian military, Imperialism, International Diplomacy, National Liberation, National Secession, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Pipeline, Neocon, Neoconservative, Neo-Imperialism, New World Order, Oil Wars, Ossetia, Ossetian, Project for the New American Century, Proxy Army, Proxy War, Russia, Russian Army, Saakashvili, South Ossetia, South Ossetian, War Pigs, Warmonger, Warmongering, World War III, World War Three, WW III, Pepe Escobar, Real News Network, OpEdNews
Friday, May 23, 2008
As War Crimes Continue, Admiration On Capitol Hill Grows For General Petraeus... Upbeat on Destruction Of Iraqi Society And Culture
Analysis: Petraeus upbeat on Iraq
May 23, 2008 at 10:56 AM
By MELISSA SCHMITT
WASHINGTON, May 23 (UPI) -- Gen. David Petraeus told an admiring Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that the improving security situation in Iraq will likely allow him to recommend further U.S. troop reductions this fall, beyond the planned drawdown to about 140,000 in July.
Petraeus, currently the commander of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and now nominated by President Bush to take over as head of U.S. Central Command, appeared before the senators for a confirmation hearing. But the gathering quickly turned from his job qualifications to a progress report on Iraq.
His comments were markedly more optimistic than his last update to the committee only six weeks ago.
Petraeus reported that recent attempts by Iraqi security forces to secure parts of the nation -- including Basra, Mosul and the sprawling Shiite slum known as Sadr City in Baghdad -- with diminished U.S. military involvement have proven successful.
The general also said the U.S.-backed central government was enjoying more support among the Iraqi people,"
In Full @ UPI
Here's one of the 'Iraqi people' he obviously hasn't asked:
"Those civilians include people like Zahara Fadhil, a 10-year-old girl with a tiny frame and long brown hair. Relatives said she was wounded by a missile on April 20 at approximately 8 p.m. in Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City. The U.S. military said it fired a Hellfire missile in Zahara's neighborhood at that time, targeting men who were seen loading rockets into a sedan.How, you ask, did THAT happen to this child?
Her face drained of color and her legs scarred by shrapnel, Zahara spoke haltingly when asked what she thought of U.S. troops.
"They kill people," she said. Lying in bed, she gasped for air before continuing.
"They should leave Iraq now."
Simple.
The reason the Pentagon MIGHT be able to allow a 'drawdown' to 140,000 troops is:
In Iraq, a Surge in U.S. Airstrikes
(Washington Post)
In other words, We can't really carpet bomb Baghdad, Mosul etc like we did to VAST INHABITED AREAS of Vietnam...
We NEED the infrastructure this time...
But we can commit the high tech, tailored-for-urban-warfare equivalent of that war crime.
Military Says Attacks Save Troops' Lives, but Civilian Casualties Elicit Criticism
Footage: Hellfire Airstrikes Over Sadr City
Since clashes broke out in eastern Baghdad in late March the U.S. Army has fired more than 200 hellfire missiles in Baghdad, killing over 251 people. A pilot describes his experiences.
By Ernesto Londoño and Amit R. Paley
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, May 23, 2008; Page A10
CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- From an Apache helicopter, Capt. Ben Katzenberger's battlefield resembles a vast mosaic of tiny brown boxes.
"The city looks like a bucket of Legos dumped out on the ground," the 26-year-old pilot said. "It's brown Legos, no color. It's really dense and hard to pick things out because everything looks the same."
He uses a powerful lens to zoom in on tiny silhouettes, trying to identify people with "hostile intent" among hundreds of ordinary citizens in Baghdad.
In recent weeks, Katzenberger and other pilots have dramatically increased their use of helicopter-fired missiles against enemy fighters, often in densely populated areas. Since late March, the military has fired more than 200 Hellfire missiles in the capital, compared with just six missiles fired in the previous three months.
The military says the tactic has saved the lives of ground troops and prevented attacks, but the strikes have also killed and wounded civilians, provoking criticism from Iraqis...
In Full (4 Pages) @ The Washington Post
Thanks For Stopping By
Sunday, March 30, 2008
That Old Time Religion - Police arrest anti-war protester, 80, at mall - Feral Scholar
That Old Time Religion
The Catonsville Nine (Daniel and Philip Berrigan, other activists, burn draft records in a parking lot with homemade napalm)
Not THIS kind of 'religion':
H/T to Stan Goff, Feral Scholar
Police arrest anti-war protester, 80, at mall
[Hat tip to Jeri Reed]
An 80-year-old church deacon was removed from the Smith Haven Mall yesterday in a wheelchair and arrested by police for refusing to remove a T-shirt protesting the Iraq War.
Police said that Don Zirkel, of Bethpage, was disturbing shoppers at the Lake Grove mall with his T-shirt, which had what they described as “graphic anti-war images.” Zirkel, a deacon at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Wyandanch, said his shirt had the death tolls of American military personnel and Iraqis - 4,000 and 1 million - and the words “Dead” and “Enough.” The shirt also has three blotches resembling blood splatters.
Police said in a release last night that…
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Iraq - Basra Police Mutiny, Refuse to attack Sadrists, Clashes continue in Basra, Sadrists open New fronts throughout Shiite South - Informed Comment
Also see, Stan Goff, Feral Scholar, for a strategic/tactical perspective:
Good Morning, Vietnam!
"...he (al Sadr) commands the ferocious loyalty of two and a half million people and has an 80,000-strong militia concentrated a stone’s throw from the U.S.-protected Green Zone in Baghdad.-------------------------------------
Baghdad has about 6 million people; New York City has 8 million, just by way of comparison.
The population of Sadr City, the “neighborhood” under the leadership of Sadr, is approximately that of Brooklyn.” In Full
----------------------------
Informed Comment
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Police Mutiny, Refuse to attack Sadrists;
Clashes continue in Basra;
Sadrists open New fronts throughout Shiite South
Mahdi Army Militiamen
Courtesy Al-Zaman of Baghdad.
Another US soldier was killed in Baghdad on Friday.
The Times of Baghdad reports in Arabic that clashes continued on Friday between Iraqi government forces and the Mahdi Army in Baghdad and the provinces of the middle Euphrates and the south, causing hundreds of casualties, including among women, children and the elderly. The fighting also did damage to Iraq's infrastructure, as well as to oil facilities and pipelines, damage that might run into the billions of dollars.
The US got drawn into the fighting on Friday. US planes bombed alleged Mahdi Army positions both in Basra and in Sadr City in Baghdad (as well as in Kadhimiya).
Kadhimiya is a major Shiite shrine neighborhood in northwest Baghdad, and the spectacle of the US bombing it is very unlikely to win Washington any friends among Iraqi Shiites.
Despite the US intervention, government troops were unable to pierce Mahdi Army defenses or over-run their positions.
Al-Zaman says that the police force in Basra suffered numerous mutinies and instances of insubordination, with policemen refusing to fire on the Mahdi Army. The government response was to undertake a widespread purge of disloyal elements.
[Hmm. I wonder where fired policemen with combat training and guns could find another job . . . Maybe with the Mahdi Army?]
The Mahdi Army opened a number of new fronts in the fighting, in Nasiriya, Karbala, Hilla, and Diwaniya, as a means of reducing the pressure on its fighters in the holy city of Karbala. Local medical officials reported 36 dead in the fighting in Nasiriya.
[In Full]
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