BOMBS AWAY, PAKISTAN VERSION

Yes, it’s BOMBS AWAY in Pakistan, especially in Northern Waziristan, part of the semiautonomous tribal region.  According to the Associated Press, the Obama administration has carried out more than 100 drone strikes in Pakistan in 2010; witch is about twice the number of the bombs they dropped there in 2009.  Not that they will admit that they are doing this – even though they claim they have killed militants now and then.

Of course, Pakistan is in on this BOMBS AWAY GAME, as per the Associated Press:

 

Pakistani officials often criticize the U.S. drone strikes, calling them a violation of the country's sovereignty. But the Pakistani government allows the drones to take off from bases within the country and is widely believed to provide intelligence necessary for the attacks.

Here are a few drone bombings from earlier this month:

November 25, 2010

Pakistani intelligence officials said a suspected US missile strike killed four alleged militants in the country’s northwest.  It’s the latest in a barrage of attacks by unmanned drones on the stronghold of Taliban fighters targeting American and Nato forces in Afghanistan.  The officials said a pair of missiles hit a moving vehicle in Pir Kali village in North Waziristan.

November 22, 2010

 

A suspected US drone has fired two missiles at a car and a motorcycle in a militant-infested area of northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing five people in the fourth such attack this week, Pakistani intelligence officials say.

 

November 21, 2010

Four suspected U.S. missiles slammed into a house in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing six people in an area near the Afghan border teeming with local and foreign militants, intelligence officials said.

The dead included three militants and three local tribesmen who were harboring them, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

November 19, 2010

 

A non-UN-sanctioned US drone attack has killed at least three people in the troubled northwestern Pakistan, security officials say.  The aircraft fired two missiles at a vehicle in North Waziristan. The vehicle was completely destroyed in the attack.

The above are just samples – with more than 100 drone bombings this year, there are plenty more out there.  But, who are they killing?  Opinions differ to some extent, but an American based group claimed that about one out of three killed is a civilian. 

One in three killed by US drones in Pakistan is a civilian, report claims

The report by Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann found that 32 per cent of those killed in drone attacks since 2004 were civilians.  Their report, The Year of the Drone, studied 114 drone raids in which more than 1200 people were killed. Of those, between 549 and 849 were reliably reported to be militant fighters, while the rest were civilians.  "The true civilian fatality rate since 2004 according to our analysis is approximately 32 per cent," the foundation reported.  The number of drone attacks has increased dramatically since Barack Obama replaced George W Bush as US president early last year. 

Yes, you read that correctly – Obama is much more into playing the BOMBS AWAY GAME in Pakistan than Bush ever was.   The Bush administration had a total of 45 drone bombings in Pakistan, and the Obama administration had 51 the first year in office.  This year – his second year in office – has seen over 100 drone bombings.  I think we should start calling him O’BOMBER.

And the O’BOMBER administration wants to expand the BOMBS AWAY GAME!  They are putting pressure on Pakistan to expand the areas where the CIA can do their drone bombings, since the insurgents keep on moving.  If the insurgents move to a more populated area, then the number of civilians dead will increase greatly.  But this does not seem to matter to the ones playing the BOMBS AWAY GAME.

U.S. wants to widen area in Pakistan where it can operate drones

The U.S. appeal has focused on the area surrounding the Pakistani city of Quetta, where the Afghan Taliban leadership is thought to be based. But the request also seeks to expand the boundaries for drone strikes in the tribal areas, which have been targeted in 101 attacks this year, the officials said.

The BOMBS AWAY GAME is likely going to expand in Pakistan.  God help the poor victims of the bombs, because the US is not going to help them, and neither is Pakistan. 

Civilian Harm and Conflict in Northwest Pakistan

Over the past year, CIVIC conducted interviews with Pakistani and US policymakers, humanitarians and officials from international organizations, and over 160 Pakistani civilians suffering direct losses from the conflict. After nearly a decade of conflict and billions of aid channeled into Pakistan, more can and should be done to address the civilian cost of the conflict. CIVIC proposes concrete, specific measures to warring parties and their partners toward finally acknowledging and making amends for civilian harm.

Also, NATO helicopters have violated Pakistani airspace again, and fired at people on the ground.  This time three people were wounded.  Were they combatants?  Who knows?  The USA BOMBERS certainly don't care. 

On Dec. 16, 2010, Veterans for Peace, IVAW, and other anti-war groups will hold an action at the White House against these wars, occupations and BOMBS AWAY GAMES.  This will be a civil disobedience action, and will show us the few Americans who have morals and are willing to stand against this evil.  Join them if you care.

Drone bombings in Pakistan

According to this video, about 98% of people killed in drone strikes are innocent. 

And there is no accountability in this BOMBS AWAY GAME.