Not all civilians are equal: Mosul vs. Aleppo
230 innocent civilians were killed in Mosul in a single night from U.S. bombs. The American media barely noticed.
It's not like we were responsible. Those hundreds of dead women and children were “human shields” for ISIS snipers, so it was their fault.
That would be an awful lot of human shields, of course, and there wouldn’t be much point of stashing them inside buildings where the US forces clearly either didn’t know where they were or didn’t feel it amounted to a deterrent to bombing those buildings anyhow.
According to Airwars, this bombing was just the topper for a really bad week for the women and children of Mosul.
440+ new civilian deaths were alleged from Coalition/ US actions in the past week - tho many of the claims are contested or poorly reported pic.twitter.com/uQvSUcqcrL
— Airwars (@airwars) March 21, 2017
So many civilians are being killed by U.S. bombs that Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew Isler had to publicly deny that our bombing weren't "indiscriminate".
So when we bomb hospitals and slaughter civilians while "liberating" Mosul, it's "tragic".
When Russia bombed hospitals and slaughtered civilians in Aleppo it was a "massacre".
Just three months ago, on the eve of Aleppo’s fall to the Syrian regime, the New York Times declared that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Iran were “Aleppo’s destroyers,” and decried the slaughter of civilians and intense shelling of residential neighborhoods. There was little discussion of the rebels, many of which had received U.S. funding or weapons at some point during the conflict — and almost all of which had engaged in severe violations of human rights of their own.
The Times assigned complete responsibility for the disaster to the Syrian government, which it said had “ignored the demands of peaceful protesters and unleashed a terrifying war.” That position unsurprisingly mimicked the U.S. government’s. (The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, even compared the fall of Aleppo to the Rwandan genocide and the massacre at Srebrenica.)
To be fair, the Russian bombing of Aleppo was a human rights crime, so the Times is not at fault there.
The "crime" of the Times is one of omission. Specifically, our crimes in Mosul.
The State Department rejects any comparison to Aleppo, an Obama-era spokesman said, since “in Mosul you have an entire coalition of some 66 nations who have planned for months” with “the vast support and legitimacy of the international community.”This statement is absurd. War crimes don’t get a pass when more nations participate in them.
And the use of the word “legitimacy,” which has precisely no legal meaning, is meant to distract from the fact that Russia’s intervention in Aleppo was also legal under international law — no less so than Washington’s in Iraq, since both countries have welcomed by the respective regimes they’re fighting to preserve. However, the legality of the intervention does not absolve one from the obligations imposed by international humanitarian law in the course of the intervention.
Around 60% of Mosul has been taken back from ISIS, although the offensive has stalled again.
A question needs to be answered: what happens after?
In Fallujah, the army "destroyed everything that the eye can see."
In Ramadi, the destruction is even worse.
What will happen after Mosul?
Comments
What will happen next?
On to war with Syria cuz we can't let the government win...
I want a Pony!
Heh, don't you love propaganda?
Unless I'm mistaken, that sentence should be re-written as:
Just three months ago, on the eve of the Syrian government regaining civil control of Aleppo after it's been bombed to rubble by outside forces...
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Airwars: Mosul
At least the US doesn't use
crappy barrel bombs. The ones in the photo look like they can do some real serious damage - right down to the basement.
Edit: The bombs appear to be Mark 84 bombs (if they are about 10ft long) made by General Dynamics Corp. These babies can cause a real hurt.
Showcases our technology powerhouse
(/extreme snark on)
Looking at the image of all of that military hardware I'm so glad that we can put to use our powerhouse of technology, engineering and manufacturing to this use. I am feeling so much safer now that we destroyed of all of those nasty, secular governments in the Middle East. The cost for them is well worth it. I'm sure that the Middle Eastern Arab world will reward us for centuries to come.
(/extreme snark off)
Seriously I don't understand why we treat violence against people as a very unacceptable, except when it comes to killing people with bullets and bombs by our military. For me, the visual image of those high tech bombs on the deck of the aircraft carrier makes me sick to my stomach.
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
Powerhouse lol, Windows Red!
Microsoft delivers secure China-only cut of Windows 10
thanks for saying Technological Powerhouse it made me LOL. Here is TheRegister being snarkily truthful about the monopolist billionaire oligarch Gates, most wealthy bag of water on the planet:Not feeling too well toward the Great American cloud business, never did.
Free Software, Free Society
LibrePlanet Program Speakers This weekend March 25-26.
LibrePlanet 2017 - Live Stream links for those who might care, and can.
Thanks
Everyday people killed by US, you know, like the guy from
Oregon killed in London. Sharing this essay can help educate people about US failed policy in the ME. No more important work could you be doing imo.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
How about a no-fly zone
in Iraq so that ISIL can get out, resupply and regroup... oops I mean that the refugees can get out and be safe?
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
I understand
your ironic comment. And I thank you.
This.
And this.
American Bombs
[Read this in the voice of Ralphie Wiggum from The Simpsons]
Our bombs are friendly bombs!
A quick thank you to gjohnsit and the commenters here
I've been able to refer this article and the ensuing comments to 4 different communities today. My message has been, "So you're suddenly upset about civilian casualties? When did this start? Let me introduce you to the reality of US foreign policy."
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard