How many bombs must a Nobel Laureate drop?
Quite a few it seems.
US forces dropped over 3,000 more bombs in 2016 than 2015, taking the grand total of strikes for the year to at least 26,171.
This map by Statista shows you where they were:
The figures are likely to be an underestimate, since the only reliable data only comes from a handful of countries, and multiple bombs can be classed as a single “strike” under the Pentagon's definition.
Of course that was only last year.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner President Obama has been dropping bombs for eight solid years.
Four years ago, as Obama was inaugurated for a second term, I wrote that the US and its allies dropped 20,000 bombs and missiles in his first term. In his second term, they have dropped four times that number, bringing the total for Obama’s presidency to over 100,000 bombs and missiles striking seven countries, surpassing the 70,000 unleashed on five countries by George W. Bush.
Dropping a hundred thousand bombs sure seems like a funny way to spread peace.
'I'm "really good at killing people"'
- Nobel Peace Prize Winner President Obama
President Obama did ten times more drone strikes during his presidency than his predecessor, George W. Bush.
A total of 563 strikes, largely by drones, targeted Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen during Obama’s two terms, compared to 57 strikes under Bush. At least 384 civilians were killed.
As much as 90% of those killed were not targeted.
The Nobel Laureate oversaw a 'secret kill list', deployed U.S. special forces in 134 countries around the world (compared to 60 under Bush), and dramatically expanded the military budget.
The reality is that Obama has increased
US military spending beyond the post-World War II record set by President
George W. Bush. Now that Obama has signed the military budget for FY2017, the
final record is that Obama has spent an average of $653.6 billion per year,
outstripping Bush by an average of $18.7 billion per year (in 2016 dollars).In historical terms, after adjusting for inflation, Obama’s military spending
has been 56 percent higher than Clinton’s, 16 percent higher than Reagan’s,
and 42 percent more than the US Cold War average, when it was justified by a
military competition with a real peer competitor in the Soviet Union.
Just like the voters wanted in 2008, amirite?
Comments
I would say that Nobel prizes are almost a big of a joke as
Barack Obama.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Yeah but....
according to many of my Democratic friends Obomber was classy about it. He's not vulgar. He had to be tough because he was a black guy, didn't he? He needed to build his legacy. Don't get all sanctimonious gjohnsit and remember USA!USA!USA!. It was some patriotic bombing and in the transnational's interest. It's discouraging to watch the Democrat's double down on their nasty in the aftermath of this farce of an election. Like nobody noticed what went on when they were voted in and given power to stop this shit.
It certainly gave me a eye opening look at just how complicit the Third Way, New Demorat's are and have been in the global wars on terra, both economic and the PNAC style killing grounds. I just read a bizarre story I can no longer find about Obomber sending 300 Marine's on a training mission in Finland or Norway. Got to surround those evil Ruskies before they wreck our electoral process. Delusional is not just for crazy right wingers it's the mode we all seem to be operating under. Thanks for some real news which tends to put thing as awful as they are in a better perspective.
Accolades for the living.
I had always thought statues and building names were associated with dead people. That way you had some assurance that subsequent revelations might not render your decision, to construct the statue or name the building, ill advised. Given this point of view, I was a bit surprised when our local university chose to dedicate a statue to a local popular (and very much alive) poet.
On the other hand the various venerated nobel prizes can only be awarded to living individuals, so there is an inherently risk of individuals demonstrating a lack of suitability (dare I say incompetence) with respect to such an award.
As for the aforementioned professor: To my knowledge he never did anything to suggest putting his stature on campus was ill advised. However, it was a bit surreal to see him and his wife cleaning bird droppings off the statue.
You forgot Operation Atlantic Resolve
"The United States is demonstrating... America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region..."
Notice the map wherein 'revanchist' Russia is moving it's borders closer and closer to Europe. There's only one solution:
Listen to two-faced Obomba back in 2012
That man is a master of bullshit.
Pilger had Obama pegged years ago.
Like Greeenwald
Pilger stopped being welcome in liberal circles in 2009.
What is the TNT equivalent to atomic bombs dropped on Japan?
I read somewhere that the Allied bombing of Dresden was equivalent in TNT to that of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima. In fact in the early days afterward, Dresden was considered a model on the effects of an atomic bomb such as the huge fire storms which killed people by increasing the carbon monoxide content.
So the question. In terms of TNT, how many atomic bombs have we dropped on the the Middle East. I tried to do the math, but the types of bombs and their TNT tonnage was not apparent so I abandoned the effort.
By the way, here is our NATO allies dropped on one country what Obama did on many countries. Who says NATO is a weak sister.
30,000 Bombs Over Libya
After some 8,000 bombing raids, with estimates of 4 bombs used per attack NATO has already dropped over 30,000 bombs on Libya. That’s almost 200 bombs per day for 6 months, some tens of thousands of tons of high explosives.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/09/02/30000-bombs-over-libya/
The bombs detonated over Japan were small.
Here is one source of information. The amount of TNT via conventional bombs and land mines is staggering by comparison. And far more insidious as small *bangs* are not as noticeable compared to the big *bangs*.