Within hours of Barack Obama's swearing into the office of the presidency, unmanned American drones like the one above, called Predators, honed in on villages in Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, striking like silent intruders in the night, against suspected terrorists.
Early accounts of casualties varied from a dozen to more than 20 dead and wounded. One Pakistani security official told THE WASHINGTON POST that perhaps ten insurgents had been killed, maybe even a high value target, a senior member of al Qaeda or the Taliban.Then the TIMES of London quoted locals who said "... three children lost their lives" when the missiles destroyed several homes. Since last August, 38 suspected U.S. missile strikes have killed at least 132 people in Pakistan.
One of the main problems, for those keeping track, is we are not at war with Pakistan. In fact, for those listening carefully, Pakistan is our ally who we have given over $6 billion dollars to since 2001. According to CNN:Pakistan is the largest recipient of payments from the Coalition Support Funds, which gives money to 27 partner countries to help combat terrorism.
Still waiting for that change Obama. I know our allies are as well.
Much of this was taken from Bill Moyers Journal, January 30, 2009.
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