Suspected U.S. Strike Kills at Least 60 at a funeral in Pakistan

[babylonsister]

Suspected U.S. Strike Kills at Least 60 in Pakistan

By PIR ZUBAIR SHAH and SALMAN MASOOD
Published: June 23, 2009


ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An airstrike believed to be carried out by a United States drone killed at least 60 people at a funeral in South Waziristan on Tuesday, residents of the area and local news reports said.

Details of the attack, which occurred in Makeen, remained unclear, but the reported death toll was exceptionally high. If the reports are indeed accurate and if the attack was carried out by a drone, the strike would be perhaps the deadliest since the United States began using the aircraft to fire remotely guided missiles at members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

If confirmed, the strike would be the 23rd by a United States drone this year, as the Obama administration has intensified a policy inherited from the Bush administration.

The strike came as the Pakistani Army and Air Force had begun operations in South Waziristan against the forces of the Pakistani Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud. The group’s suicide bombings in major cities have terrorized Pakistanis for years.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/world/asia/24pstan.html?ref=global-home

[malaise]

1. I thought this shit was stopped n/t

[timeforpeace]

3. Quite the opposite. This war has been expanded.

[malaise]

9. I read this weekend that a decision was made to

stop the use of these drones.

This looks like a deliberate violation of that policy. Obama better get rid of Cheney's goons.

[spanone]

2. good to see we're still winning hearts and minds and body parts

what the flying fuck are we doing in pakistan?

[chimpymustgo]

4. WHat exactly is our goal? Seriously. What are we trying to achieve?

[timeforpeace]

5. Hell, we got 3 wars now.Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan.

[arcadian]

8. How did that happen?

:shrug:

[ProgressiveSuperhawk]

6. Bush's policies are still killing people

The Bush policies of invading countries and dropping bombs on people is still killing people, Bush has brought so much destruction to the world

[arcadian]

7. This is now Obama's War

Hearts & minds people, hearts & minds

[scarletwoman]

10. If Obama doesn't put a stop to this shit, I will swear enmity on him for the rest of his term.

I don't care how smart he (supposedly) is, or how "cool" he is, or how adorable his family is, this is total bullshit.

I'm done. There's no fucking excuse for this stupid fucked up policy.

sw

[Karmadillo]

11. "We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost." Also, "Martin Luther King once said,

‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice’...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/world/middleeast/21prexy.html

President Obama ratcheted up his language against Iran’s leadership on Saturday, in a statement that invoked the American civil rights movement as an analogy for what was unfolding on the streets of Tehran.

“Martin Luther King once said, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,’ ” Mr. Obama said in a statement released after security forces in the Iranian capital clashed repeatedly with protesters. “I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian people’s belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.”

Mr. Obama’s remarks came after intense debate and multiple meetings all day Saturday at the White House, administration officials said, and reflected growing concern within the administration that the violence in Iran could continue to escalate.

Despite his forceful words, however, Mr. Obama is still resisting calls from conservatives and Republicans to harshly and publicly condemn the Iranian government and impose stiff sanctions on refined gas exports to Iran. In particular, the president’s use of the word “justice,” which White House officials have been debating all week, is a departure from the more measured tones he had struck earlier in the week. “The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching,” Mr. Obama said. “We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people.”

more...

[timeforpeace]

12. In 1972, when Nixon bombed a harbor in N Vietnam (Haiphong?) there were immediate spontaneous

protests in Boulder, Co. We were at a restaurant on Flagstaff Hill, saw the news reports about the bombing, and came out later and heard the demonstrations below us in town, which continued for several days and shut Boulder down. Got tear gassed on the CU campus. Is that what it's going to take to stop this? Can that happen today?

[Karmadillo]

13. That's what we should do, but the fact these atrocities are being committed by a Democratic

administration seems to have somehow made them OK.

[Hydra]

14. Exactly!

Sad, huh? I thought people's principles ran further than getting mad at Bush.

[Morrisons Ghost]

16. I think

There are two different people in the anti-war movement. Those who are against war on principle and those who are against it only when a republican is waging it!

[old guy]

15. I am totally dumbfounded by the continuing stupidity.

However, one thing to remember, McKrystal (sp)is one of Cheney's hand picked thugs so maybe I shouldn't wonder at all.

[Morrisons Ghost]

17. Last time I checked

Barack Obama was the POTUS!The buck has to stop with him!

[old guy]

18. Absolutely correct

The acceptance of McKryatal only guaranteed this stupidity would continue to what end no one knows.