Monday, September 27, 2010

60 dead as helos & drones strike pakistan (but don't call it a war)

60 dead as helos & drones strike pakistan (but don't call it a war)from danger room: U.S. officials don’t like calling what’s going on in Pakistan a war. But the US-led conflict, whatever name you give it, has never been this violent. The drone component of the campaign hit a new high over the weekend — 20 attacks in September alone, killing as many as 101 people. Today, NATO confirmed that a pair of its helicopters, based in Afghanistan, chased militant suspects across the border. 53 more are now reported dead.

In the Beltway, it’s considered bad form to refer to the Pakistan “war.” The term is too loaded with geopolitical baggage, and raises too many questions about who should be overseeing the conflict at home. But when NATO helicopters kill more than four dozen in Pakistan in a single day; when the CIA-led drone campaign hits 20 targets in 23 days; when thousands of U.S.-trained Afghans cross the border to fight insurgents on Pakistani soil; when American troops ferry aid to Pakistan’s flood victims; when the U.S. Air Force flies surveillance sorties over Pakistan; when American security contractors operate on Pakistani turf; and when U.S. Special Operations forces school Islamabad’s army in counterinsurgency (and sometimes lose troops to firefights in the process), what else should we name this multi-pronged military campaign? What other term would possibly apply?


warwhores updates:
pentagon to funnel US arms to yemen to fight al-qaeda*
9 nato troops killed in afghan helicopter crash*
woodward: cia has 3,000 man covert army in afghanistan*
army reveals afghan biometric id plan; millions scanned, carded by may*
mexican city aims to be first to use widespread eye-scanning technology*
white house 'dissapointed' with vote on 'don't ask, don't tell'*
fmr marine corps sniper & security contractor shane schmidt dies at 33*
obama: 'we need to make clear to people that the cancer is in pakistan'*
despite clinton pledge, state dept. to pay out billions more to mercs*
gates (delicately) criticizes the all-volunteer military*
army's largest base, ft hood, reeling from 4 apparent suicides in 1 weekend*
charlie wilson's warrior becomes top pentagon spook*

No comments:

Post a Comment

fair use notice: this site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. we are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, & social justice issues, etc. we believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US copyright law. In accordance with title 17 usc section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.