Ooopsie! US airstrike goes all wrong in Yemen. Many children and women killed.

[mcablue]

In a joint US/Yemen operation that sought to get Al Qaeda members last Thursday, many children and women were killed. This is unacceptable and the culprits must be punished.

ABC NEWS:

"On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, administration officials told ABC News in a report broadcast on ABC World News with Charles Gibson."

"As many as 120 people were killed in the three raids, according to reports from Yemen, and opposition leaders said many of the dead were innocent civilians."

AFP:

"A local Yemeni official said on Sunday that 49 civilians, among them 23 children and 17 women, were killed in air strikes against Al-Qaeda, which he said were carried out "indiscriminately."

"A tribal leader from the Al-Kazam tribe too confirmed civilian deaths."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091220/wl_mideast_afp/yemenunrestqaeda_20091220152108


GLENN GREENWALD:

"one account from an official Iranian outlet began: "U.S. Nobel Peace Prize laureate President Barack Obama has signed the order for a recent military strike on Yemen in which scores of civilians, including children, have been killed, a report says"

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/12/21/terrorism/print.html

[brendan120678]

1. Sounds like a pretty big "oopsie"! (nt)

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. How many enemy targets were killed?

Versus how many civilians?

Curious...

[asdjrocky]

10. Sick.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. That makes it okay to kill innocent civilians?

[timeforpeace]

29. Imagine his/her reaction if it had been Bush instead of Obama doing this. Worst hypocrisy ever.

Why worst? Because this isn't about politics, it's about the lives and horrible deaths of innocent human beings, and many on the left don't care anymore. Just because it's Obama doing it and not Bush.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

31. Imagine if he/she had actually stated an opinion or or position regarding the action

rather than just asking a straight question.
The question was 100% neutral.

[kenny blankenship]

3. Well there's another place I can never go with a US passport.

Thanks a lot.

[ClarkUSA]

4. It's impossible to tell whether these numbers are being inflated for propaganda purposes

Since Yemen has become an Al-Qaeda reserve state, the government of Yemen has asked for our help
in containing Al-Qaeda's influence before it takes over the entire region.

[Forkboy]

6. What lower number would be acceptable?

Or is there a percentage that you use based on how many enemies are killed along with them?

And on edit - I do actually agree with you that these numbers can be inflated, or deflated, for propaganda purposes.

[EFerrari]

18. Thank goodness for these governments that "ask for our help".

We're all safer tonight because of them. :sarcasm:

[IndianaGreen]

34. Your version is total bullshit and a pack of lies

We are killing Shia in Yemen on behalf of Saudi Arabia which is backing the Wahhabi Yemeni regime.

Looks like using the Al-Qaeda pretext to murder people comes as easily to Obama as it did Bush.

BTW, this bombing is a war crime!

[grantcart]

5. Ooopsie Aljazeera reports that top Al-Qaeda members killed in the attack

Now if aljazeera can report competing claims certainly you should be able to as well.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/34/Local_Yemeni_Official_Says_54_Civilians_Killed_in_.html

Yemeni government officials said the Thursday air strikes against Al-Maajala killed 30 suspected Al-Qaeda members, and that four Al-Qaeda members were also killed Thursday in a ground raid in Abhar, 35 kilometers north of Sanaa.

Yemen's defense ministry said on its website that "several" local Al-Qaeda leaders were killed in the air strikes. It identified five of them, including Mohammad Saleh Al-Kazimi, whom it said was the commander of the training camp. The ministry also said that a Saudi, identified as Ibrahim al-Najdi, was among those killed in Abyan.




Isn't it funny how people who would never accept a pronouncement from the WhiteHouse as gospel find an attribution to "a tribal leader" in area that openly supports Al-Qaeda as being impeachable.

[Undercurrent]

7. And

"one account from an official Iranian outlet" is cited as a source well. :wtf:

[LittleBlue]

9. LMAO! And killing the 430th Al Qaeda #17 is worth the death of women and children?

Wow, the sick people on this forum. So Bushian one needs doublethink to reconcile it.

[mcablue]

11. Why do you go to Al Jazeera? the same information is in the links provided in the OP

You act as if you found some sort of undisclosed breaking news in Al Jazeera, when in fact the ABC and AFP links already talk about the terrorist suspects killed. I guess the children didn't die in vain then. Care to talk about the children?

[EFerrari]

17. Because people on the ground don't have a better count

of destroyed life than White House spindoctors. Gotcha.

[Flaneur]

21. No, Al Jazeera reports what Yemeni government spokesmen claim.

I thought these people were Shiite rebels. Al Qaeda is Sunni.

[HughMoran]

33. He's a 100%er

100% anti-Democrat postings.

[27inCali]

8. a real Liberal does not ever

refer to the death of innocents with a blithe "oopsie."


take that shit back to Free Republic.

[mcablue]

12. A real liberal doesn't bomb children

We have a different rulebook, I guess.

A real liberal also complains FIRST about the death of children, and THEN about the word "oopsie." You complained about "oopsie" and that's it. Your priorities are really interesting.

[sudopod]

13. Clearly, everyone who criticizes you for sounding like a jackass

is for bombing innocent people. They're probably also just like Hitler.

[mcablue]

22. No. You didn't bomb those children. Don't make things up. You know who bombed those children

I never implied that those who criticized me bombed the children. I said you're not a liberal for focusing on the word "oopsie" before even criticizing the killing of children.

[HughMoran]

32. Good catch

This one is an LLF

[jasi2006]

14. We just made at least 20,000 new enemies. Nice going. nt

[jasi2006]

15. We just made at least 20,000 new enemies. Nice going. nt

[AngryAmish]

16. Way to go Bush!

[jonnyblitz]

28. people would be screeching for Bush's head in this thread

if he were still president and there would be NO discussion of "inflated numbers for propaganda purposes".

[ProSense]

19. Disinformation that will not die.

Yemen said on Thursday its security forces and warplanes foiled a planned series of suicide bombings by attacking targets including an al Qaeda training center in the southern province of Abyan and sites in Arhab district.

About 30 al Qaeda militants were killed and 17 arrested in Abyan and in Arhab, northeast of the capital Sanaa, it said.

Hundreds of people from the opposition Southern Movement, which says south Yemen has been marginalized and wants it to secede, protested in Radfan, Zinjibar and Dalea on Saturday against civilian deaths in the raids.

The four Yemenis were found in a hospital in Aden and placed under arrest, the ministry said. Their families had taken them there after the attack in Abyan.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that the United States gave military hardware, intelligence and other support to Yemeni forces to carry out the raids.

link

It's funny that some people are focusing on a bogus story and ignoring this:

6 Detainees Are Returned to Yemen

[mcablue]

23. Interestingly, neither the word "children" nor "women" appear on your post

No reference to the victims.

[krawhitham]

20. so it is worse to kill innocent women and chrildren than innocent men?

just checking?

[mcablue]

24. Fine. You and I will agree that the US military and Yemeni military killed innocent people

Without discriminating regarding gender or age. Do we agree?

[BeyondGeography]

25. Forgot to bold the "opposition leaders" said part

:eyes:

[Renew Deal]

26. 120 people were killed and 49 were civilians?

What were the other 71?

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. Human beings

[timo]

35. ???????

punch a terroist in the mouth while taking him into custody, get court marshalled!!!
send cruise missiles in and bomb some women and kids as collateral damage?? meh fuck it no biggie, no worries they were disposable!!!
Very clear to me now!!

[Thrill]

36. Unreal. This type of shit just shouldn't happen while a Democrat is President

No excuse for this crap. Stop trying to police the fucking world