Not a blink of American eyes at Pakistan's reported killing of over 70 civilians Saturday

[bigtree]

Associated Press April 13, 2010,

Up to 71 civilians were killed in a weekend strike by Pakistani jets near the Afghan border, survivors and a government official said Tuesday -- a rare confirmation of civilian casualties that risks undercutting public support for the fight against militants.

The government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said authorities had already handed out the equivalent of $125,000 in compensation to families of the victims in a remote village in the Khyber tribal area.

Also Tuesday, a village elder claimed 13 civilians had been killed in U.S. missile strike on Monday night elsewhere in the northwest, contesting accounts by Pakistani security officials that four militants were killed.

read more: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9F26KVG0.htm


McClatchy Newspapers

ISLAMABAD — At least 71 villagers were killed by a misdirected air strike against suspected extremists in Pakistan's tribal zone, locals claimed Tuesday. Thousands more have flooded out of the area to escape a military offensive against Taliban and Al Qaida fighters holed up there.

The air strike took place on Saturday, in a remote part of the Khyber "agency" part of the tribal belt — the lawless area that borders Afghanistan. This week, the United Nations warned that more than 200,000 new refugees had been created by Pakistan's anti-Taliban offensives, mostly from Orakzai agency, which lies next to Khyber.

The Pakistani military refused to admit the accidental deaths but the local government administration told tribesmen that it would pay out 10 million rupees ($118,000) compensation. Military sources said that they had targeted bunkers being constructed by extremists in the Tirah valley and were unsure how a house could have been hit.

The episode is likely a significant setback to the campaign to win the hearts and minds of the population of the tribal area. The house hit belonged to a tribal elder from the Kukikhel, a clan that is loyal to the Pakistani state, whose three sons serve in the Pakistani military forces.

read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/04/13/92056/villagers-in-pakistans-tribal.html


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U.S. President Barack Obama and Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, April 12, 2010.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. And notice the utter lack of a response here --

to your posting. :(

O is doing it to keep us safe, so it's OK, haven't you heard??

[kenny blankenship]

2. We like to hire out the dirtiest work

so our hands stay clean.

No matter what.

[stray cat]

3. And if it was remarked upon - DU would say America has no right and is hypocritical

damned if you do and damned if you don't