obama..takes care of our vets

[bigrun]

A CIA veteran transforms U.S. counterterrorism policy

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...c=nl_headlines

[Danzig]

http://news.yahoo.com/drone-of-silen...-10251296.html

an article i just read on yahoo about the drones, and the 16 year old us citizen killed by a drone strike.

some excerpts:

Yet Gibbs was one of Obama’s closest advisers during the early days of the administration when the president began personally picking the suspected terrorists who would be targeted by drone attacks. So Gibbs is familiar with the presidential rationale for these targeted killings and the collateral damage that sometimes accompanies them.


The mindset surrounding the drone attacks is analogous to Richard Nixon’s declaration, “When the president does it, that means that it’s not illegal.” In this case, Gibbs was saying, in effect, “When the president kills you with a drone strike, that means you are a terrorist.” And if you are an American citizen like the 16-year-old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, then you too are fair game.

Except that this teenager was not with his father when he died in 2011. As Tom Junod reported in Esquire, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki had not seen his father in two years and was searching for him -- haunted as many boys are by the missing imprint of a male parent. Given the blanket of executive secrecy surrounding the president’s kill list, we do not know why the group of relatives and friends that he was eating dinner with by the side of the road was targeted by a drone.




http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...a4b_story.html


that's the link to the 'disposition matrix' (which is a euphamism for kill lists) article that is mentioned by yahoo....



an excerpt:

Meanwhile, a significant milestone looms: The number of militants and civilians killed in the drone campaign over the past 10 years will soon exceed 3,000 by certain estimates, surpassing the number of people al-Qaeda killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Obama administration has touted its successes against the terrorist network, including the death of Osama bin Laden, as signature achievements that argue for President Obama’s reelection. The administration has taken tentative steps toward greater transparency, formally acknowledging for the first time the United States’ use of armed drones.

Less visible is the extent to which Obama has institutionalized the highly classified practice of targeted killing, transforming ad-hoc elements into a counterterrorism infrastructure capable of sustaining a seemingly permanent war. Spokesmen for the White House, the National Counterterrorism Center, the CIA and other agencies declined to comment on the matrix or other counterterrorism programs.

Privately, officials acknowledge that the development of the matrix is part of a series of moves, in Washington and overseas, to embed counterterrorism tools into U.S. policy for the long haul.

[bigrun]

Iraq Body Count project

105,052–114,731 civilian deaths as a result of the conflict. Over 162,000 civilian and combatant deaths.

March 2003 to January 2012

[dellinger63]

Did those two retired Seals qualify as Vets?

If they were did Obama take care of them by denying backup? Even when it was requested three different times?

Is 'leave no man behind' a thing of the past?

Now they're just bumps in the road?

[Riot]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

Did those two retired Seals qualify as Vets?

If they were did Obama take care of them by denying backup? Even when it was requested three different times?

Is 'leave no man behind' a thing of the past?

Now they're just bumps in the road?

CIA information disproves your allegation. Seriously - try to watch more than Faux News (a station not permitted broadcast license in Canada, because "news" programs have to tell the truth in Canada by law)

I'm in favor of using target drones rather than troops on the ground where we can, but yes, there are serious civilian safety concerns and creeping war declaration issues (and no, I'm not making light of it, it's serious)

However, I'm sick watching those attack Obama, who supported Bush killing thousands of civilians and our troops in the invasion of a wrong country, after he already invaded Afghanistan, for no reason, and not own up to their error of supporting the man. Americans are dead because Bush lied to the United States. Period.

[bigrun]

Originally Posted by Riot

CIA information disproves your allegation. Seriously - try to watch more than Faux News (a station not permitted broadcast license in Canada, because "news" programs have to tell the truth in Canada by law)

I'm in favor of using target drones rather than troops on the ground where we can, but yes, there are serious civilian safety concerns and creeping war declaration issues (and no, I'm not making light of it, it's serious)

However, I'm sick watching those attack Obama, who supported Bush killing thousands of civilians and our troops in the invasion of a wrong country, after he already invaded Afghanistan, for no reason, and not own up to their error of supporting the man. Americans are dead because Bush lied to the United States. Period.

I've been preaching that for months, doesn't fly here..they can't handle the truth...somewhere in this thread or another i listed the civilian deaths in Iraq..where was the right blasting Bush for those deaths...not to mention our precious troop losses...they don't like the drone attacks where we have zero losses they prefer invasions...

[geeker2]

uh oh...guess who got it wrong again.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/foxcanada.asp