A few words about the CIA attack on the village of Damadola in Pakistan:
1. What a stupid thing to do. Remember Jean Charles de Menezes? The Brazilian fellow who was murdered on the London Underground? Yeah, well this is that all over again. But is anyone going to mourn 17 invisible, unimportant Pakistani village children, their mothers and fathers? No. Because we're too busy drinking oil and watching the latest installment of American Idol. Please. 12 West Virginia coal miners die in a freak accident and there are inquests and memorials. 17 Pakistani villagers are murdered due to misinformation and *cough cough* oops? Each loss of life is tragic, but you wouldn't know it in the world we live in.
2. If the CIA did carry out the attack, why didn't they cover it the HELL up? Pakistan is in enough trouble as it is. The last thing we need is a wanton (and well publicized) violation of our airspace and sovereignty in this manner. Obviously some pompous jackass safe and sound in a bunker miles underground (anyone seen Dick Cheney lately?) wanted credit for this action and leaked the story to the media. "Hey, we just sent jets 50 miles into Pakistani territory to blow some innocent villagers to smithereens!! But say we got Al Zawahiri... you know... to make it seem legit. And give the CIA credit... we rule!" Now the Pakistani government will be under fire from the domestic, hell-bound, bearded ones and many other more reasonable people. I mean, are we a sovereign nation or aren't we?
3. So why couldn't the Pakistan Air Force carry out the attack, if it was so completely necessary to have one? Last time I checked, we had planes. And pilots. And our President seems to enjoy being W's blue eyed boy. So much for "friends" and "allies."
4. If you happen to be American, I'm sure this is all worlds away for you; impoverished Pakistani villagers? Sixteen of them? Seventeen? Who cares? But, any day, some hotshot pilot could get "confirmed and accurate information" that Osama bin Laden is hanging out just chillin' in my parents backyard. (Why he would do that, I do not know. Anyone who's been to my place knows all the green grass and pretty flowers are in the front.) And that scares me. Because the pawn on the plane will do what he's told to do. And governments will deny all knowledge. And then the Pakistani government will "file a protest." What bloody good does "filing a protest" do anyway? "Here. Piece of paper saying we're kind of mad. OK, I feel better now."
My only real comfort is that God is watching. Sometimes I wish He were more Republican... you know, preemptive and irrationally angry; He could smite F-16s from the sky when He sees them flying on missions supported by flimsy, plain wrong or non-existent evidence. That would make me happy. It'd be like the Bermuda Triangle... The Bermuda Earth... featuring God... the Omnipresent, Omniscient Smiter of Errant F-16s (and Other Flying Objects). Now there's a good reality show for you. None of that "Skating with Celebrities" crap we're going to have inflicted on us later this month.
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2 comments:
Too early to tell yet:
Local officials say 18 civilians were killed, but Pakistani intelligence sources were quoted as saying the actual death toll was higher and included 11 militants - seven of Arab origin, and four Pakistanis. A report in The New York Times said that the bodies of the seven Arabs were taken away by a local cleric who had been at the dinner but left before the air strike.
I would suggest the fault lies with the parents for the dead children. The women knew who was coming to dinner, as did the men, so they shoulda known better, indeed I imagine their neighbours will now think twice about who they invite for lunch.
First, thank you for posting a comment. I don't care if you disagree with me, it's just nice to get a response.
Second, it's possible that some militants were killed but you'll notice those stories only started to circulate after people, at least people in Pakistan, expressed shock and outrage at what transpired. Initial reports indicated that all those killed were civilians and these were not disputed by the Pakistani government until the US government denied that such an attack had occured.
Third, I disagree (completely) with your somewhat smug and incredibly naive take on where the blame lies for these deaths. If one follows your line or reasoning
a) the parents of the people who died in the WTC attacks are to blame because they should have known their children were working in buildings that were potential terrorist targets
b) the parents of the US soldiers that die in Iraq are to blame for their deaths because they allowed their children to take a job that could end their lives
c) the parents of the West Virginia miners that died last week are to blame for allowing their children to think that working in a mine was a safe thing to do.
I don't agree with a, b or c. And I'm sure you don't either. We need to be mindful that humanity extends across every race and religion and cannot be accorded to just those we consider to be in the right.
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