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March 22, 2009
Murderers

A LA Times propaganda piece about the 'success' of the killing campaign waged by the U.S. in the tribal areas of Pakistan includes this line:

The offensive has been aided by technological advances and an expansion of the CIA's Predator fleet. The drones take off and land at military airstrips in Pakistan, but are operated by CIA pilots in the United States. Some of the pilots — who also pull the triggers on missiles — are contractors hired by the agency, former officials said.

Government officials like soldiers, policemen or even CIA agents have certain immunities when are ordered to kill someone. Civilian contractors do not have these nor should they have them. Civilians pulling the trigger to kill in a non defensive situation are committing first degree murders.

Where is the federal prosecutor going after these?

Posted by b on March 22, 2009 at 10:10 UTC | Permalink
Comments

You jest, right b?
Where would we find a man who would be willing to go against the empire in such a manner? What would happen to him?
The only way to have any hope of peace in this sorry old world is if the American Empire falls. We must pray for that. It will take the Zionist enterprise down with it as a side benefit.
Anything that weakens the American Empire or its sadistic ‘ally’ in the middle east is always welcome news.

Posted by: Buckaroo | Mar 22 2009 10:51 utc | 1

Excellent question.
I remember, back at the very beginning of this conflict, i was on another, much smaller set of boards. As i repeatedly aired my opposition to these conflicts — and emphasized the stupidity of getting into them — one point that nobody seemed to share with me was the recognition that Blackwater = Mercenaries.
These are the 21st century brownshirts, and they’re here to stay.
Gosh, i feel lucky i studied that bit of Dark Ages social history; now, with Xe nee Blackwater and all their pals running amok, i have found a new purpose and meaning in the scant bit of knowledge i came away with.
And so much for all the old nonsense about “progress”, yeah?
I just came across this entry, on Raw Story News.
http://www.newshoggers.com/blog/2009/03/guess-who-really-runs-pakistan.html
It’s a very revealing look into the perspective of the Pakistani leadership groups; notice, however, how significant a role China plays in it.
In a very real sense, the war in Afghanistan is, as i suggested elsewhere, a squaring off of the U.S. against Chinese interests.
Notice, also, how China and India are squaring off against one another: but they’re not at war.
Teddy Roosevelt said “Walk softly and carry a big stick.”
Seems modern-day Americans have invented their own foreign policy strategy:
“Run around braying like an ass, and pay thugs to shoot anything that moves.”
It’s an empire in decline.

Posted by: china_hand2 | Mar 22 2009 11:04 utc | 2

Government officials like soldiers, policemen or even CIA agents have certain immunities when are ordered to kill someone. Civilian contractors do not have these nor should they have them. Civilians pulling the trigger to kill in a non defensive situation are committing first degree murders.
Should government officials like soldiers, policemen or even CIA agents have them? Other than in purely self-defense I mean– an occassion in which civilians are also given immunity.

Posted by: Quin Arbeitman | Mar 22 2009 12:04 utc | 3

…but are operated by CIA pilots in the United States.

Doesn’t this make the United States a legitimate target?

Posted by: Jim T. | Mar 22 2009 12:30 utc | 4

“Sitting in a virtual cockpit is not as exciting as flying a fighter jet”, noted CNN’s breathless Laurie Ure, “but unmanned attack-plane pilots can enjoy a normal workday schedule”. Captain Matt Dean agrees, “seeing bad guys on the screen and watching them possibly get dispatched, and then going down to the Taco Bell for lunch,
it’s kind of surreal”

Posted by: denk | Mar 22 2009 14:30 utc | 5

A “contractor” is not necessarily a ‘civilian.’ And most likely, they’ve been inoculated… I think the legal phrase is “hold harmless” … against any kind of legal culpability.
The simple answer is: Not. Gonna. Happen.

Posted by: Jeremiah | Mar 22 2009 15:58 utc | 6

It’s not for nothing that video games pushed at adolescent boys are by and large combat-oriented. The survival of the military depends on it.

Posted by: Obelix | Mar 22 2009 17:47 utc | 7

Focus on Hometown Kabul

Posted by: Anonymous | Mar 22 2009 18:30 utc | 8

i just got back from the smoke shop (feeding my habit). it is really cold clear and windy out. the check out guys ask me what the word for that was, when the trees are blowing like crazy, i replied ‘windy’ and ask him his native tongue. he said something i didn’t understand , then said afghanistan. my face lit up! we talked for quite awhile. i forgot to ask him his age but he couldn’t have been more than 20. he said hios grandfather sponsored him to come here and he’s been here 7 months. his grandfather owns the smoke shop. he said there are 4 talibans supported by US, UK, iran/pak, and afghanistan. he says everyone there thinks the Islamabad bombing was US/IS. he blames it all on israel. he says everyone blames israel. he was so cute! lol. we talked for 20 minutes or so. he works on weekends and commutes over an hr to work. i told him i would drop in next weekend to pick his brain some more. he says baluchistan is part of afghaninstan and no one will ever conquer it.

Posted by: annie | Mar 22 2009 20:20 utc | 9

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