A large percentage of airstrikes against ISIS are carried out by drones.
At
The Nation, Sara Rathod writes
The Civilian Toll From the War Against ISIS Is Huge. Why Isn’t the Press Covering It?
Eight months ago, on December 28, a warplane from the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, or ISIS, struck a building in the Syrian town of al-Bab that had been identified as a local headquarters for the militant group. It was just one of over a thousand airstrikes the coalition had launched up to that point. However, this building wasn’t simply a gathering place for militants or a storehouse for weapons. It was also being used as a makeshift prison for local civilians whom ISIS had accused of petty offenses like smoking cigarettes and wearing jeans.
The jail was a symptom of the harsh rule the Islamic State had imposed in early 2014. When ISIS took over the town, in the Aleppo region near the Turkish border, ordinary life gave way to a reign of terror. Executions were regularly carried out in the town square, with the bodies of victims being left out for days, often with signs hanging from their chests stating their alleged crimes. Islamic State members would stop children in the street and ask them if their fathers had gone to prayer. Hundreds of locals were held in prison at any given time.[...]
The prison was leveled, and it was days before the rubble was cleared and all the bodies were extracted and returned to the victims’ families. At least 58 civilians were killed, including a number of teenagers. So far, it is one of the worst mass-casualty incidents attributed to the US-led coalition.
The Pentagon didn’t disclose the airstrike publicly, but a week later, reporters at McClatchy got a tip from one of their partners in Syria. After persistent questioning, the Pentagon admitted it had carried out the attack. McClatchy published a story, backed up by photographic evidence, NGO corroboration, and witness accounts. If it hadn’t been for the doggedness of the McClatchy reporters, the story might not have been reported at all. [...]
As of this month, the US-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria for one year. So far, it has carried out over 5,900 strikes. In that time, the Pentagon has admitted to only two civilian deaths, continually insisting that its precision weapons have minimized civilian fatalities to a remarkable level—too remarkable to be believed. In June, Lt. Gen. John Hesterman, former combined forces air component commander, called the current air war against ISIS “the most precise and disciplined in the history of aerial warfare.”
However, in a report published this month, a monitoring group called Airwars has documented at least 459 civilian deaths that it says were likely the result of the coalition bombing campaign—a far cry from the two deaths that have so far been admitted. Each of these incidents has been reported by two or more credible sources and occurred in an area where Airwars confirmed there was a coalition airstrike. Many are backed up by photographs, videos, and biographical information about the victims. The revelation is hardly surprising, given the history of civilian deaths resulting from US-led air campaigns. In the first year of the Iraq War, aerial bombing resulted in over 2,000 deaths. In Afghanistan, over 3,000 civilians were killed in the first year of the aerial campaign. What is most surprising about the bombing of ISIS over the past year is that even after widely reported mass-casualty incidents in those previous wars, major media outlets have been slow to challenge the Pentagon’s unrealistic claims.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2008—Stupid Republican VP tricks:
Few things are more laughable than Republicans pontificating about vice presidential picks, maybe because their own bench is so weak. On Saturday John McCain strongly praised Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden, describing it as "wise". Meanwhile McCain was releasing an attack ad demanding to know why Obama hadn't chosen Hillary Clinton instead. Which leads me quickly to my thesis: These Republicans are goofballs.
Case in point is Tim Pawlenty. After reciting the threadbare GOP talking points about how disappointed they all are by Obama's selection of Biden, Pawlenty topped the list off with this ornament to stupidity (h/t Matt at Think Progress):
Pawlenty said he believed Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, would have been a better choice for Obama. "He's an outstanding leader and somebody who would better represent the mainstream of the country," Pawlenty said. |
In other words, to hell with military regulations that prohibit active duty officers from campaigning for or holding partisan political office. To hell as well with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who wrote an open letter this spring reiterating the policy that "the U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times and in all ways".
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On
today's Kagro in the Morning show:
Armando and
David Waldman’s birthday is today, Aug. 25!
Scott Anderson's is Aug. 26! What are the odds?!?
Greg Dworkin looks for trouble, finds it everywhere, reveals who is diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies. Scott Walker, skating on thin ice, falls on his face, stretching metaphor in process. Obama’s 2nd term shapes 2016 race. Trump shapes it even huger and more classy, but not as a populist. Armando questions the Biden bid. David reviews #BLM’s Campaign Zero.
Rosalyn MacGregor reports from MI: Residents get to curse in front of women, Courser situation remains NSFW. Road funding and marijuana still frowned upon.
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