The blowback starts here
by digby
This story in Foreign Policy about the targeted assassination program is as disturbing as you might imagine. These strikes are going to cause us many problems down the road. Because of the pain they’re causing innocent people caught in the crossfire:
It’s as if the hundreds of Yemenis also killed in U.S. strikes — including dozens of civilians — never existed.
“We Yemenis are the ones who pay the price of the ‘war on terror,'” said Faisal Jaber, a relative of the two Jaber cousins killed in Khashamir. “We are caught between a drone on one side and al Qaeda on the other.”
I can’t help but think that the government excuses itself with the rationalization former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs gave when asked if killing the innocent 16 year old son of Anwar al Awlaki was justified:
“I would suggest that he should have a far more responsible father …”
Hey, if people don’t want to be killed by flying robots, they just need to make sure they choose the right family and aren’t ever in the presence of American targets. Easy peasy.
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