We have become so inured to the outrages perpetrated in our name, that the following incident barely warranted a mention. There is a little-noted aspect of the aftermath, however, that bears examination.
As you may know, on Friday our guys in Iraq mistakenly dropped a five-hundred pound bomb, out of an F-16, on the wrong house. The owner of the house told news services that the bomb killed 14 people, including seven children.
That is not the what this diary is about, however; it is the chilling insult added to the profound injury.
In its apology, our newspeakperson admitted that we had bombed the wrong house and stated that we "deeply regret the loss of possibly innocent lives." (emphasis mine).
Well, actually, even though it was American troops on the ground and an American F-16 that dropped the bomb, the statement read:
"Multi-National Force-Iraq deeply regrets the loss of possibly innocent lives."
"Possibly innocent lives."
As if that weren't bad enough, it seems that this was not just a case of faulty targeting or pilot error...
According to the CNN report,
"U.S. ground forces first raided the house in the village of A'ytya...witnesses reported hearing screams coming from the vicinity of the house, and then the forces left. Minutes later, the house exploded, the witnesses said."
In other words, actual troops were in the house, evaluated the target, must have seen the residents, including the children, and then ordered the strike. Sounds like more than pilot error, here.
Sounds like 1984.
Possibly. Innocent. Lives.