The Kill Team

[JBeee]

How U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians and mutilated their corpses – and how their officers failed to stop them. Plus: An exclusive look at the war crime photos censored by the Pentagon


The Kill Team | Rolling Stone Politics

 

[mentalfloss]

Yea, this was swept under the rug pretty handily. Hadn't heard a peep about it since.

 

[eh1eh]

Wasn't that called Blackhawk Down. Or was that something else?

 

[JBeee]

`Blackhawk Down` was a movie in 2001. This occured quite recently...with in last 6 or 8 months?

Pics are horrifying aren`t they?

"At one point, soldiers in 3rd Platoon talked about throwing candy out of a Stryker vehicle as they drove through a village and shooting the children who came running to pick up the sweets."....

That fellow Morlock apparently grew up with the Palins of `Sarah Palin` fame.

Wasn't that called Blackhawk Down. Or was that something else?

 

[eh1eh]

`Blackhawk Down` was a movie in 2001. This occured quite recently...with in last 6 or 8 months?

Pics are horrifying aren`t they?

War is hell. I don't dwell on the graphic details. This stuff has been going on since time in memorial.

BTW, I know when, where and why 'Backhawk Down' took place. I saw the news in 1993.

 

[Unforgiven]

Not to condone this, but just who the hell did you think was going to be showing up over there?

 

[JBeee]

War is hell. Do these premeditated acts of murder of innocents fit in to that category?

War is hell. I don't dwell on the graphic details. This stuff has been going on since time in memorial.

BTW, I know when, where and why 'Backhawk Down' took place. I saw the news in 1993.

 

[eh1eh]

War is hell. Do these premeditated acts of murder of innocents fit in to that category?

Yes. By definition. War is the premeditated killing of an enemy. It's bad man. Humans are killers. They are not cold blooded killers by nature. They generally only kill for their own gain.

 

[JBeee]

"War is the premeditated killing of an enemy"....

Can you define `the enemy` regarding this particular string of incidents?

(it might help if you read the article)

Yes. By definition. War is the premeditated killing of an enemy. It's bad man. Humans are killers. They are not cold blooded killers by nature. They generally only kill for their own gain.

 

[eh1eh]

"War is the premeditated killing of an enemy"....

Can you define `the enemy` regarding this particular string of incidents?

(it might help if you read the article)

I doubt it.

 

[JBeee]

All the more reason Bradley Manning should be given a medal for standing up and revealing this type of sick behaviour by US troops, don`t you think?

I doubt it.

 

[BaalsTears]

All the more reason Bradley Manning should be given a medal for standing up and revealing this type of sick behaviour by US troops, don`t you think?

The incarceration and trial of Pvt. Bradley Manning is an internal matter of American justice. Period.

 

[JBeee]

These disgusting photos of murdered Afghans reveal the aggression and racism underpinning the occupation of my country

• 
• • Malalai Joya
  • The Guardian, Wednesday 30 March 2011
  • Article history

The disgusting and heartbreaking photos published last week in the German media, and more recently in Rolling Stone magazine, are finally bringing the grisly truth about the war in Afghanistan to a wider public. All the PR about this war being about democracy and human rights melts into thin air with the pictures of US soldiers posing with the dead and mutilated bodies of innocent Afghan civilians.

I must report that Afghans do not believe this to be a story of a few rogue soldiers. We believe that the brutal actions of these "kill teams" reveal the aggression and racism which is part and parcel of the entire military occupation. While these photos are new, the murder of innocents is not. Such crimes have sparked many protests in Afghanistan and have sharply raised anti-American sentiment among ordinary Afghans.

I am not surprised that the mainstream media in the US has been reluctant to publish these images of the soldiers who made sport out of murdering Afghans. General Petraeus, now in charge of the American-led occupation, is said to place great importance on the "information war" for public opinion – and there is a concerted effort to keep the reality of Afghanistan out of sight in the US.

Last week my initial application for a US entry visa was turned down, and so my book tour was delayed while supporters demanded my right to enter the country. The American government was pressed to relent and allow my visit to go ahead. Ultimately it too will be unable to block out the truth about the war in Afghanistan.

The "kill team" images will come as a shock to many outside Afghanistan but not to us. We have seen countless incidents of American and Nato forces killing innocent people like birds. For instance, they recently killed nine children in Kunar Province who were collecting firewood. In February this year they killed 65 innocent villagers, most of them women and children. In this case, as in many others, Nato claimed that they had only killed insurgents, even though local authorities acknowledged that the victims were civilians. To prevent the facts coming out they even arrested two journalists from al-Jazeera who attempted to visit and report from the site of the massacre.

Successive US officials have said that they will safeguard civilians and that they will be more careful, but in fact they are only more careful in their efforts to cover up their crimes and suppress reporting of them. The US and Nato, along with the office of the UN's assistance mission in Afghanistan, usually give statistics about civilian deaths that underestimate the numbers. The reality is that President Obama's so-called surge has only led to a surge of violence from all sides, and civilian deaths have increased.

The occupying armies have tried to buy off the families of their victims, offering $2,000 for each one killed. Afghans' lives are cheap for the US and Nato, but no matter how much they offer, we don't want their blood money.

Once you know all this, and once you have seen the "kill team" photos, you will understand more clearly why Afghans have turned against this occupation. The Karzai regime is more hated than ever: it only rules through intimidation, corruption, and with the help of the occupying armies. Afghans deserve much better than this.

However, this does not mean more Afghans are supporting the reactionary so-called resistance of the Taliban. Instead we are seeing the growth, under very difficult conditions, of another resistance led by students, women and the ordinary poor people of Afghanistan.

They are taking to the streets to protest against the massacre of civilians and to demand an end to the war. Demonstrations like this were recently held in Kabul, Marzar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and Farah.

This resistance is inspired by the movements in other countries like Egypt and Tunisia – we want to see "people power" in Afghanistan as well. And we need the support and solidarity of people in the Nato countries.

Many new voices are speaking up against this expensive and hypocritical war in Afghanistan, including soldiers from the Nato armies.

When I last visited the UK I had the honour of meeting Joe Glenton, a conscientious objector who spent months in jail for his resistance to the war in Afghanistan. Of his time in prison, Glenton said: "In the current climate I consider it a badge of honour to have served a prison sentence."

So while the world looks in horror at the "kill team" photographs, Joe Glenton's courage and humanity is an important reminder that the war in Afghanistan need not last forever.

 

[JLM]

How U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians and mutilated their corpses – and how their officers failed to stop them. Plus: An exclusive look at the war crime photos censored by the Pentagon


The Kill Team | Rolling Stone Politics

Is this fact or just more of your "Who shot John"?

 

[Unforgiven]

Shed a tear for these people too.

The following list includes the date, target of attacks, and casualties of significant attacks by the terrorist goup al-Qaeda.

1993 (Feb.): Bombing of World Trade Center (WTC); 6 killed.

1993 (Oct.): Killing of U.S. soldiers in Somalia.

1996 (June): Truck bombing at Khobar Towers barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killed 19 Americans.

1998 (Aug.): Bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; 224 killed, including 12 Americans.

1999 (Dec.): Plot to bomb millennium celebrations in Seattle foiled when customs agents arrest an Algerian smuggling explosives into the U.S.

2000 (Oct.): Bombing of the USS Cole in port in Yemen; 17 U.S. sailors killed.

2001 (Sept.): Destruction of WTC; attack on Pentagon. Total dead 2,992.

2001 (Dec.): Man tried to denote shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.

2002 (April): Explosion at historic synagogue in Tunisia left 21 dead, including 11 German tourists.

2002 (May): Car exploded outside hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14, including 11 French citizens.

2002 (June): Bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12.

2002 (Oct.): Boat crashed into oil tanker off Yemen coast, killing 1.

2002 (Oct.): Nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, killed 202, mostly Australian citizens.

2002 (Nov.): Suicide attack on a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 16.

2003 (May): Suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

2003 (May): 4 bombs killed 33 people targeting Jewish, Spanish, and Belgian sites in Casablanca, Morocco.

2003 (Aug.): Suicide car-bomb killed 12, injured 150 at Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.

2003 (Nov.): Explosions rocked a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, housing compound, killing 17.

2003 (Nov.): Suicide car-bombers simultaneously attacked 2 synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 25 and injuring hundreds.

2003 (Nov.): Truck bombs detonated at London bank and British consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 26.

2004 (March): 10 bombs on 4 trains exploded almost simultaneously during the morning rush hour in Madrid, Spain, killing 191 and injuring more than 1,500.

2004 (May): Terrorists attacked Saudi oil company offices in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing 22.

2004 (June): Terrorists kidnapped and executed American Paul Johnson, Jr., in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

2004 (Sept.): Car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed 9.

2004 (Dec.): Terrorists entered the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing 9 (including 4 attackers).

2005 (July): Bombs exploded on 3 trains and a bus in London, England, killing 52.

2005 (Oct.): 22 killed by 3 suicide bombs in Bali, Indonesia.

2005 (Nov.): 57 killed at 3 American hotels in Amman, Jordan.

2006 (Jan.): Two suicide bombers carrying police badges blow themselves up near a celebration at the Police Academy in Baghdad, killing nearly 20 police officers. Al-Qaeda in Iraq takes responsibility.

2006 (Aug.): Police arrest 24 British-born Muslims, most of whom have ties to Pakistan, who had allegedly plotted to blow up as many as 10 planes using liquid explosives. Officials say details of the plan were similar to other schemes devised by al-Qaeda.

2007 (April): Suicide bombers attack a government building in Algeria's capital, Algiers, killing 35 and wounding hundreds more. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claims responsibility.

2007 (April): Eight people, including two Iraqi legislators, die when a suicide bomber strikes inside the Parliament building in Baghdad. An organization that includes al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia claims responsibility. In another attack, the Sarafiya Bridge that spans the Tigris River is destroyed.

2007 (June): British police find car bombs in two vehicles in London. The attackers reportedly tried to detonate the bombs using cell phones but failed. Government officials say al-Qaeda is linked to the attempted attack. The following day, an SUV carrying bombs bursts into flames after it slams into an entrance to Glasgow Airport. Officials say the attacks are connected.

2007 (December): As many as 60 people are killed in two suicide attacks near United Nations offices and government buildings in Algiers, Algeria. The bombings occur within minutes of each other. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly called the Salafist Group for Preaching, claims responsibility. It's the worst attack in the Algeria in more than 10 years.

2007 (December): Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani prime minister, is assassinated in a suicide attack on Dec. 27,
2007, at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf blames al Qaeda for the attack, which kills 23 other people. Baitullah Mehsud, a Taliban leader with close ties to al Qaeda is later cited as the assassin.

2008 (January): In the worst attack in Iraq in months, a suicide bomber kills 30 people at a home where mourners were paying their respects to the family of a man killed in a car bomb. The Iraqi military blames the attack on al-Qaeda in Iraq.

2008 (February): Nearly 100 people die when two women suicide bombers, who are believed to be mentally impaired, attack crowded pet markets in eastern Baghdad. The U.S. military says al-Qaeda in Iraq has been recruiting female patients at psychiatric hospitals to become suicide bombers.

2008 (April): A suicide bomber attacks the funeral for two nephews of a prominent Sunni tribal leader, Sheik Kareem Kamil al-Azawi, killing 30 people in Iraq's Diyala Province.

2008 (April): A suicide car bomber kills 40 people in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province in Iraq.

2008 (April): Thirty-five people die and 62 are injured when a woman detonates explosives that she was carrying under her dress in a busy shopping district in Iraq’s Diyala Province.

2008 (May): At least 12 worshipers are killed and 44 more injured when a bomb explodes in the Bin Salman mosque near Sana, Yemen.

2008 (May): An al-Qaeda suicide bomber detonates explosives in Hit, a city in the Anbar Province of Iraq, killing six policemen and four civilians, and injuring 12 other people.

2008 (June): A car bomb explodes outside the Danish Embassy in Pakistan, killing six people and injuring dozens. Al-Qaeda claims responsibility, saying the attack was retaliation for the 2006 publication of political cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

2008 (June): A female suicide bomber kills 15 and wounds 40 others, including seven Iraqi policemen, near a courthouse in Baquba, Iraq.

2008 (June): A suicide bomber kills at least 20 people at a meeting between sheiks and Americans in Karmah, a town west of Baghdad.

2008 (August): About two dozens worshippers are killed in three separate attacks as they make their way toward Karbala to celebrate the birthday of 9th-century imam Muhammad al-Mahdi. Iraqi officials blame al-Qaeda in Iraq for the attacks.

2008 (August): A bomb left on the street explodes and tears through a bus carrying Lebanese troops, killing 15 people, nine of them soldiers. No one claims responsibility for the attack, but in 2007, the army fought an al-Qaeda linked Islamist group in Tripoli.

2008 (August): At least 43 people are killed when a suicide bomber drives an explosives-laden car into a police academy in Issers, a town in northern Algeria.

2008 (August): Two car bombs explode at a military command and a hotel in Bouira, killing a dozen people. No group takes responsibility for either attack, Algerian officials said they suspect al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is behind the bombings.

2008 (September): In its first acknowledged ground attack inside Pakistan, U.S. commandos raid a village that is home to al-Qaeda militants in the tribal region near the border with Afghanistan. The number of casualties is unclear.

2008 (September): A car bomb and a rocket strike the U.S. embassy in Yemen as staff arrived to work, killing 16 people, including 4 civilians. At least 25 suspected al-Qaeda militants are arrested for the attack.

2008 (November): at least 28 people die and over 60 more are injured when three bombs explode minutes apart in Baghdad, Iraq. Officials suspect the explosions are linked to al-Qaeda.

2009 (April): on April 6 in Baghdad, a series of six attacks kills 36 people and injure more than 100 in Shiite neighborhoods; April 23: at least 80 people are killed in three separate suicide bombings in Baghdad. This is the largest single-day death toll due to attacks since February 2008. One of the bombings is reportedly set off by a female, who was standing among a group of women and children receiving food aid.

2009 (December): a suicide bomber kills eight Americans civilians, seven of them CIA agents, at a base in Afghanistan. It's the deadliest attack on the agency since 9/11. The attacker is reportedly a double agent from Jordan who was acting on behalf of al-Qaeda.

2009 (December): A Nigerian man on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit attempted to ignite an explosive device hidden in his underwear. The explosive device that failed to detonate was a mixture of powder and liquid that did not alert security personnel in the airport. The alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told officials later that he was directed by the terrorist group al-Qaeda. The suspect was already on the government's watch list when he attempted the bombing; his father, a respected Nigerian banker, had told the U.S. government that he was worried about his son's increased extremism.

Read more: Terrorist Acts Suspected of or Inspired by al-Qaeda — Infoplease.com Terrorist Acts Suspected of or Inspired by al-Qaeda — Infoplease.com

 

[JLM]

Re: Shed a tear for these people too.

The following list includes the date, target of attacks, and casualties of significant attacks by the terrorist goup al-Qaeda.

1993 (Feb.): Bombing of World Trade Center (WTC); 6 killed.

1993 (Oct.): Killing of U.S. soldiers in Somalia.

1996 (June): Truck bombing at Khobar Towers barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killed 19 Americans.

1998 (Aug.): Bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; 224 killed, including 12 Americans.

1999 (Dec.): Plot to bomb millennium celebrations in Seattle foiled when customs agents arrest an Algerian smuggling explosives into the U.S.

2000 (Oct.): Bombing of the USS Cole in port in Yemen; 17 U.S. sailors killed.

2001 (Sept.): Destruction of WTC; attack on Pentagon. Total dead 2,992.

2001 (Dec.): Man tried to denote shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.

2002 (April): Explosion at historic synagogue in Tunisia left 21 dead, including 11 German tourists.

2002 (May): Car exploded outside hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14, including 11 French citizens.

2002 (June): Bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12.

2002 (Oct.): Boat crashed into oil tanker off Yemen coast, killing 1.

2002 (Oct.): Nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, killed 202, mostly Australian citizens.

2002 (Nov.): Suicide attack on a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 16.

2003 (May): Suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

2003 (May): 4 bombs killed 33 people targeting Jewish, Spanish, and Belgian sites in Casablanca, Morocco.

2003 (Aug.): Suicide car-bomb killed 12, injured 150 at Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.

2003 (Nov.): Explosions rocked a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, housing compound, killing 17.

2003 (Nov.): Suicide car-bombers simultaneously attacked 2 synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 25 and injuring hundreds.

2003 (Nov.): Truck bombs detonated at London bank and British consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 26.

2004 (March): 10 bombs on 4 trains exploded almost simultaneously during the morning rush hour in Madrid, Spain, killing 191 and injuring more than 1,500.

2004 (May): Terrorists attacked Saudi oil company offices in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing 22.

2004 (June): Terrorists kidnapped and executed American Paul Johnson, Jr., in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

2004 (Sept.): Car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed 9.

2004 (Dec.): Terrorists entered the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing 9 (including 4 attackers).

2005 (July): Bombs exploded on 3 trains and a bus in London, England, killing 52.

2005 (Oct.): 22 killed by 3 suicide bombs in Bali, Indonesia.

2005 (Nov.): 57 killed at 3 American hotels in Amman, Jordan.

2006 (Jan.): Two suicide bombers carrying police badges blow themselves up near a celebration at the Police Academy in Baghdad, killing nearly 20 police officers. Al-Qaeda in Iraq takes responsibility.

2006 (Aug.): Police arrest 24 British-born Muslims, most of whom have ties to Pakistan, who had allegedly plotted to blow up as many as 10 planes using liquid explosives. Officials say details of the plan were similar to other schemes devised by al-Qaeda.

2007 (April): Suicide bombers attack a government building in Algeria's capital, Algiers, killing 35 and wounding hundreds more. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claims responsibility.

2007 (April): Eight people, including two Iraqi legislators, die when a suicide bomber strikes inside the Parliament building in Baghdad. An organization that includes al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia claims responsibility. In another attack, the Sarafiya Bridge that spans the Tigris River is destroyed.

2007 (June): British police find car bombs in two vehicles in London. The attackers reportedly tried to detonate the bombs using cell phones but failed. Government officials say al-Qaeda is linked to the attempted attack. The following day, an SUV carrying bombs bursts into flames after it slams into an entrance to Glasgow Airport. Officials say the attacks are connected.

2007 (December): As many as 60 people are killed in two suicide attacks near United Nations offices and government buildings in Algiers, Algeria. The bombings occur within minutes of each other. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly called the Salafist Group for Preaching, claims responsibility. It's the worst attack in the Algeria in more than 10 years.

2007 (December): Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani prime minister, is assassinated in a suicide attack on Dec. 27,
2007, at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf blames al Qaeda for the attack, which kills 23 other people. Baitullah Mehsud, a Taliban leader with close ties to al Qaeda is later cited as the assassin.

2008 (January): In the worst attack in Iraq in months, a suicide bomber kills 30 people at a home where mourners were paying their respects to the family of a man killed in a car bomb. The Iraqi military blames the attack on al-Qaeda in Iraq.

2008 (February): Nearly 100 people die when two women suicide bombers, who are believed to be mentally impaired, attack crowded pet markets in eastern Baghdad. The U.S. military says al-Qaeda in Iraq has been recruiting female patients at psychiatric hospitals to become suicide bombers.

2008 (April): A suicide bomber attacks the funeral for two nephews of a prominent Sunni tribal leader, Sheik Kareem Kamil al-Azawi, killing 30 people in Iraq's Diyala Province.

2008 (April): A suicide car bomber kills 40 people in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province in Iraq.

2008 (April): Thirty-five people die and 62 are injured when a woman detonates explosives that she was carrying under her dress in a busy shopping district in Iraq’s Diyala Province.

2008 (May): At least 12 worshipers are killed and 44 more injured when a bomb explodes in the Bin Salman mosque near Sana, Yemen.

2008 (May): An al-Qaeda suicide bomber detonates explosives in Hit, a city in the Anbar Province of Iraq, killing six policemen and four civilians, and injuring 12 other people.

2008 (June): A car bomb explodes outside the Danish Embassy in Pakistan, killing six people and injuring dozens. Al-Qaeda claims responsibility, saying the attack was retaliation for the 2006 publication of political cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

2008 (June): A female suicide bomber kills 15 and wounds 40 others, including seven Iraqi policemen, near a courthouse in Baquba, Iraq.

2008 (June): A suicide bomber kills at least 20 people at a meeting between sheiks and Americans in Karmah, a town west of Baghdad.

2008 (August): About two dozens worshippers are killed in three separate attacks as they make their way toward Karbala to celebrate the birthday of 9th-century imam Muhammad al-Mahdi. Iraqi officials blame al-Qaeda in Iraq for the attacks.

2008 (August): A bomb left on the street explodes and tears through a bus carrying Lebanese troops, killing 15 people, nine of them soldiers. No one claims responsibility for the attack, but in 2007, the army fought an al-Qaeda linked Islamist group in Tripoli.

2008 (August): At least 43 people are killed when a suicide bomber drives an explosives-laden car into a police academy in Issers, a town in northern Algeria.

2008 (August): Two car bombs explode at a military command and a hotel in Bouira, killing a dozen people. No group takes responsibility for either attack, Algerian officials said they suspect al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is behind the bombings.

2008 (September): In its first acknowledged ground attack inside Pakistan, U.S. commandos raid a village that is home to al-Qaeda militants in the tribal region near the border with Afghanistan. The number of casualties is unclear.

2008 (September): A car bomb and a rocket strike the U.S. embassy in Yemen as staff arrived to work, killing 16 people, including 4 civilians. At least 25 suspected al-Qaeda militants are arrested for the attack.

2008 (November): at least 28 people die and over 60 more are injured when three bombs explode minutes apart in Baghdad, Iraq. Officials suspect the explosions are linked to al-Qaeda.

2009 (April): on April 6 in Baghdad, a series of six attacks kills 36 people and injure more than 100 in Shiite neighborhoods; April 23: at least 80 people are killed in three separate suicide bombings in Baghdad. This is the largest single-day death toll due to attacks since February 2008. One of the bombings is reportedly set off by a female, who was standing among a group of women and children receiving food aid.

2009 (December): a suicide bomber kills eight Americans civilians, seven of them CIA agents, at a base in Afghanistan. It's the deadliest attack on the agency since 9/11. The attacker is reportedly a double agent from Jordan who was acting on behalf of al-Qaeda.

2009 (December): A Nigerian man on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit attempted to ignite an explosive device hidden in his underwear. The explosive device that failed to detonate was a mixture of powder and liquid that did not alert security personnel in the airport. The alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told officials later that he was directed by the terrorist group al-Qaeda. The suspect was already on the government's watch list when he attempted the bombing; his father, a respected Nigerian banker, had told the U.S. government that he was worried about his son's increased extremism.

Read more: Terrorist Acts Suspected of or Inspired by al-Qaeda — Infoplease.com Terrorist Acts Suspected of or Inspired by al-Qaeda — Infoplease.com

There's a record that pretty well speaks for itself. Maybe Bush wasn't such a bully after all! :smile:

 

[JBeee]

Donald Rumsfeld labels 'Kill Team' Afghan photos as 'much worse' than Iraq's Abu Ghraib


Read more: Donald Rumsfeld labels 'Kill Team' photos as 'much worse' than Abu Ghraib | Mail Online

Is this fact or just more of your "Who shot John"?

[SIZE=+2]FROM WOUNDED KNEE TO LIBYA:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2]A CENTURY OF U.S. MILITARY INTERVENTIONS[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]by Dr. Zoltan Grossman[/SIZE]
The following is a partial list of U.S. military interventions from 1890 to 2011.
Below the list is a Briefing on the History of U.S. Military Interventions.
The list and briefing are also available as a powerpoint presentation.
This guide does not include:

• mobilizations of the National Guard
• offshore shows of naval strength
• reinforcements of embassy personnel
• the use of non-Defense Department personnel (such as the Drug Enforcement Administration)
• military exercises
• non-combat mobilizations (such as replacing postal strikers)
• the permanent stationing of armed forces
• covert actions where the U.S. did not play a command and control role
• the use of small hostage rescue units
• most uses of proxy troops
• U.S. piloting of foreign warplanes
• foreign or domestic disaster assistance
• military training and advisory programs not involving direct combat
• civic action programs
• and many other military activities.

Among sources used, beside news reports, are the Congressional Record (23 June 1969), 180 Landings by the U.S. Marine Corp History Division, Ege & Makhijani in Counterspy (July-Aug, 1982), "Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798-1993" by Ellen C. Collier of the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service, and Ellsberg in Protest & Survive.
Versions of this list have been published on Zmag.org, Neravt.com, and numerous other websites.
Translations of list: Spanish French Turkish Italian Chinese Greek Russian Czech Tamil Portuguese
Quotes in Christian Science Monitor and The Independent
Turkish newspaper urges that the United States be listed in Guinness Book of World Records as the Country with the Most Foreign Interventions.
COUNTRY OR STATEDates of interventionForcesCommentsSOUTH DAKOTA 1890 (-?) Troops300 Lakota Indians massacred at Wounded Knee.ARGENTINA1890TroopsBuenos Aires interests protected.CHILE1891TroopsMarines clash with nationalist rebels.HAITI1891TroopsBlack revolt on Navassa defeated.IDAHO1892TroopsArmy suppresses silver miners' strike.HAWAII1893 (-?)Naval, troopsIndependent kingdom overthrown, annexed.CHICAGO1894TroopsBreaking of rail strike, 34 killed.NICARAGUA1894TroopsMonth-long occupation of Bluefields.CHINA1894-95Naval, troopsMarines land in Sino-Japanese WarKOREA1894-96TroopsMarines kept in Seoul during war.PANAMA1895Troops, navalMarines land in Colombian province.NICARAGUA1896TroopsMarines land in port of Corinto.CHINA1898-1900TroopsBoxer Rebellion fought by foreign armies.PHILIPPINES1898-1910 (-?)Naval, troopsSeized from Spain, killed 600,000 FilipinosCUBA1898-1902 (-?)Naval, troopsSeized from Spain, still hold Navy base.PUERTO RICO1898 (-?)Naval, troopsSeized from Spain, occupation continues.GUAM1898 (-?)Naval, troopsSeized from Spain, still use as base.MINNESOTA1898 (-?)TroopsArmy battles Chippewa at Leech Lake.NICARAGUA1898TroopsMarines land at port of San Juan del Sur.SAMOA1899 (-?)TroopsBattle over succession to throne.NICARAGUA1899TroopsMarines land at port of Bluefields.IDAHO1899-1901TroopsArmy occupies Coeur d'Alene mining region.OKLAHOMA1901TroopsArmy battles Creek Indian revolt.PANAMA1901-14Naval, troopsBroke off from Colombia 1903, annexed Canal Zone 1914.HONDURAS1903TroopsMarines intervene in revolution.DOMINICAN REPUBLIC1903-04TroopsU.S. interests protected in Revolution.KOREA1904-05TroopsMarines land in Russo-Japanese War.CUBA1906-09TroopsMarines land in democratic election.NICARAGUA1907Troops"Dollar Diplomacy" protectorate set up.HONDURAS1907TroopsMarines land during war with NicaraguaPANAMA1908TroopsMarines intervene in election contest.NICARAGUA1910TroopsMarines land in Bluefields and Corinto.HONDURAS1911TroopsU.S. interests protected in civil war.CHINA1911-41Naval, troopsContinuous occupation with flare-ups.CUBA1912TroopsU.S. interests protected in civil war.PANAMA1912TroopsMarines land during heated election.HONDURAS1912TroopsMarines protect U.S. economic interests.NICARAGUA1912-33Troops, bombing10-year occupation, fought guerillasMEXICO1913NavalAmericans evacuated during revolution.DOMINICAN REPUBLIC1914NavalFight with rebels over Santo Domingo.COLORADO1914TroopsBreaking of miners' strike by Army.MEXICO1914-18Naval, troopsSeries of interventions against nationalists.HAITI1914-34Troops, bombing19-year occupation after revolts.TEXAS1915TroopsFederal soldiers crush "Plan of San Diego" Mexican-American rebellionDOMINICAN REPUBLIC1916-24Troops8-year Marine occupation.CUBA1917-33TroopsMilitary occupation, economic protectorate.WORLD WAR I1917-18Naval, troopsShips sunk, fought Germany for 1 1/2 years.RUSSIA1918-22Naval, troopsFive landings to fight BolsheviksPANAMA1918-20Troops"Police duty" during unrest after elections.HONDURAS1919TroopsMarines land during election campaign.YUGOSLAVIA1919Troops/Marinesintervene for Italy against Serbs in Dalmatia.GUATEMALA1920Troops2-week intervention against unionists.WEST VIRGINIA1920-21Troops, bombingArmy intervenes against mineworkers.TURKEY1922TroopsFought nationalists in Smyrna.CHINA1922-27Naval, troopsDeployment during nationalist revolt.HONDURAS1924-25TroopsLanded twice during election strife.PANAMA1925TroopsMarines suppress general strike.CHINA1927-34TroopsMarines stationed throughout the country.EL SALVADOR1932NavalWarships send during Marti revolt.WASHINGTON DC1932TroopsArmy stops WWI vet bonus protest.WORLD WAR II1941-45Naval, troops, bombing, nuclearHawaii bombed, fought Japan, Italy and Germay for 3 years; first nuclear war.DETROIT1943TroopsArmy put down Black rebellion.IRAN1946Nuclear threatSoviet troops told to leave north.YUGOSLAVIA1946Nuclear threat, navalResponse to shoot-down of US plane.URUGUAY1947Nuclear threatBombers deployed as show of strength.GREECE1947-49Command operationU.S. directs extreme-right in civil war.GERMANY1948Nuclear ThreatAtomic-capable bombers guard Berlin Airlift.CHINA1948-49Troops/Marinesevacuate Americans before Communist victory.PHILIPPINES1948-54Command operationCIA directs war against Huk Rebellion.PUERTO RICO1950Command operationIndependence rebellion crushed in Ponce.KOREA1951-53 (-?)Troops, naval, bombing , nuclear threatsU.S./So. Korea fights China/No. Korea to stalemate; A-bomb threat in 1950, and against China in 1953. Still have bases.IRAN1953Command OperationCIA overthrows democracy, installs Shah.VIETNAM1954Nuclear threatFrench offered bombs to use against seige.GUATEMALA1954Command operation, bombing, nuclear threatCIA directs exile invasion after new gov't nationalized U.S. company lands; bombers based in Nicaragua.EGYPT1956Nuclear threat, troopsSoviets told to keep out of Suez crisis; Marines evacuate foreigners.LEBANONl958Troops, navalMarine occupation against rebels.IRAQ1958Nuclear threatIraq warned against invading Kuwait.CHINAl958Nuclear threatChina told not to move on Taiwan isles.PANAMA1958TroopsFlag protests erupt into confrontation.VIETNAMl960-75Troops, naval, bombing, nuclear threatsFought South Vietnam revolt & North Vietnam; one million killed in longest U.S. war; atomic bomb threats in l968 and l969.CUBAl961Command operationCIA-directed exile invasion fails.GERMANYl961Nuclear threatAlert during Berlin Wall crisis.LAOS1962Command operationMilitary buildup during guerrilla war. CUBA l962 Nuclear threat, navalBlockade during missile crisis; near-war with Soviet Union. IRAQ1963Command operationCIA organizes coup that killed president, brings Ba'ath Party to power, and Saddam Hussein back from exile to be head of the secret service.PANAMAl964TroopsPanamanians shot for urging canal's return.INDONESIAl965Command operationMillion killed in CIA-assisted army coup.DOMINICAN REPUBLIC1965-66Troops, bombingMarines land during election campaign.GUATEMALAl966-67Command operationGreen Berets intervene against rebels.DETROITl967TroopsArmy battles African Americans, 43 killed.UNITED STATESl968TroopsAfter King is shot; over 21,000 soldiers in cities.CAMBODIAl969-75Bombing, troops, navalUp to 2 million killed in decade of bombing, starvation, and political chaos.OMANl970Command operationU.S. directs Iranian marine invasion.LAOSl971-73Command operation, bombingU.S. directs South Vietnamese invasion; "carpet-bombs" countryside.SOUTH DAKOTAl973Command operationArmy directs Wounded Knee siege of Lakotas.MIDEAST1973Nuclear threatWorld-wide alert during Mideast War.CHILE1973Command operationCIA-backed coup ousts elected marxist president.CAMBODIAl975Troops, bombingGas captured ship, 28 die in copter crash.ANGOLAl976-92Command operationCIA assists South African-backed rebels.IRANl980Troops, nuclear threat, aborted bombingRaid to rescue Embassy hostages; 8 troops die in copter-plane crash. Soviets warned not to get involved in revolution.LIBYAl981Naval jetsTwo Libyan jets shot down in maneuvers.EL SALVADORl981-92Command operation, troopsAdvisors, overflights aid anti-rebel war, soldiers briefly involved in hostage clash.NICARAGUAl981-90Command operation, navalCIA directs exile (Contra) invasions, plants harbor mines against revolution.LEBANONl982-84Naval, bombing, troopsMarines expel PLO and back Phalangists, Navy bombs and shells Muslim positions.GRENADAl983-84Troops, bombingInvasion four years after revolution.HONDURASl983-89TroopsManeuvers help build bases near borders.IRANl984JetsTwo Iranian jets shot down over Persian Gulf.LIBYAl986Bombing, navalAir strikes to topple nationalist gov't.BOLIVIA1986TroopsArmy assists raids on cocaine region.IRANl987-88Naval, bombingUS intervenes on side of Iraq in war.LIBYA1989Naval jetsTwo Libyan jets shot down.VIRGIN ISLANDS1989TroopsSt. Croix Black unrest after storm.PHILIPPINES1989JetsAir cover provided for government against coup.PANAMA1989 (-?)Troops, bombingNationalist government ousted by 27,000 soldiers, leaders arrested, 2000+ killed.LIBERIA1990TroopsForeigners evacuated during civil war.SAUDI ARABIA1990-91Troops, jetsIraq countered after invading Kuwait. 540,000 troops also stationed in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Israel.IRAQ1990-91Bombing, troops, navalBlockade of Iraqi and Jordanian ports, air strikes; 200,000+ killed in invasion of Iraq and Kuwait; large-scale destruction of Iraqi military.KUWAIT1991Naval, bombing, troopsKuwait royal family returned to throne. IRAQ1991-2003Bombing, navalNo-fly zone over Kurdish north, Shiite south; constant air strikes and naval-enforced economic sanctionsLOS ANGELES1992TroopsArmy, Marines deployed against anti-police uprising.SOMALIA1992-94Troops, naval, bombingU.S.-led United Nations occupation during civil war; raids against one Mogadishu faction.YUGOSLAVIA1992-94NavalNATO blockade of Serbia and Montenegro.BOSNIA1993-?Jets, bombingNo-fly zone patrolled in civil war; downed jets, bombed Serbs.HAITI1994Troops, navalBlockade against military government; troops restore President Aristide to office three years after coup.ZAIRE (CONGO)1996-97TroopsMarines at Rwandan Hutu refugee camps, in area where Congo revolution begins.LIBERIA1997TroopsSoldiers under fire during evacuation of foreigners.ALBANIA1997TroopsSoldiers under fire during evacuation of foreigners.SUDAN1998MissilesAttack on pharmaceutical plant alleged to be "terrorist" nerve gas plant.AFGHANISTAN1998MissilesAttack on former CIA training camps used by Islamic fundamentalist groups alleged to have attacked embassies.IRAQ1998Bombing, MissilesFour days of intensive air strikes after weapons inspectors allege Iraqi obstructions.YUGOSLAVIA1999Bombing, MissilesHeavy NATO air strikes after Serbia declines to withdraw from Kosovo. NATO occupation of Kosovo.YEMEN2000NavalUSS Cole, docked in Aden, bombed.MACEDONIA2001TroopsNATO forces deployed to move and disarm Albanian rebels.UNITED STATES2001Jets, navalReaction to hijacker attacks on New York, DCAFGHANISTAN2001-?Troops, bombing, missilesMassive U.S. mobilization to overthrow Taliban, hunt Al Qaeda fighters, install Karzai regime, and battle Taliban insurgency. More than 30,000 U.S. troops and numerous private security contractors carry our occupation.YEMEN2002MissilesPredator drone missile attack on Al Qaeda, including a US citizen.PHILIPPINES2002-?Troops, navalTraining mission for Philippine military fighting Abu Sayyaf rebels evolves into combat missions in Sulu Archipelago, west of Mindanao.COLOMBIA2003-?TroopsUS special forces sent to rebel zone to back up Colombian military protecting oil pipeline.IRAQ2003-?Troops, naval, bombing, missilesSaddam regime toppled in Baghdad. More than 250,000 U.S. personnel participate in invasion. US and UK forces occupy country and battle Sunni and Shi'ite insurgencies. More than 160,000 troops and numerous private contractors carry out occupation and build large permanent bases.LIBERIA2003TroopsBrief involvement in peacekeeping force as rebels drove out leader.HAITI2004-05Troops, naval Marines land after right-wing rebels oust elected President Aristide, who was advised to leave by Washington.PAKISTAN2005-?Missiles, bombing, covert operationCIA missile and air strikes and Special Forces raids on alleged Al Qaeda and Taliban refuge villages kill multiple civilians. Drone attacks also on Pakistani Mehsud network.SOMALIA2006-?Missiles, naval, troops, command operationSpecial Forces advise Ethiopian invasion that topples Islamist government; AC-130 strikes, Cruise missile attacks and helicopter raids against Islamist rebels; naval blockade against "pirates" and insurgents.SYRIA2008TroopsSpecial Forces in helicopter raid 5 miles from Iraq kill 8 Syrian civiliansYEMEN2009-?Missiles, command operationCruise missile attack on Al Qaeda kills 49 civilians; Yemeni military assaults on rebelsLIBYA2011-?Bombing, missiles, command operationNATO coordinates air strikes and missile attacks to back armed rebels fighting Qaddafi government.

(Death toll estimates from 20th-century wars can be found in the Historical Atlas of the 20th Century by alphabetized places index, map series, and major casualties .)

[SIZE=+2]A BRIEFING ON THE HISTORY [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2]OF U.S. MILITARY INTERVENTIONS [/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]By Zoltán Grossman, October 2001[/SIZE]
Published in Z magazine.[SIZE=+1] [/SIZE]Translations in Italian Polish​

Since the September 11 attacks on the United States, most people in the world agree that the perpetrators need to be brought to justice, without killing many thousands of civilians in the process. But unfortunately, the U.S. military has always accepted massive civilian deaths as part of the cost of war. The military is now poised to kill thousands of foreign civilians, in order to prove that killing U.S. civilians is wrong.
The media has told us repeatedly that some Middle Easterners hate the U.S. only because of our "freedom" and "prosperity." Missing from this explanation is the historical context of the U.S. role in the Middle East, and for that matter in the rest of the world. This basic primer is an attempt to brief readers who have not closely followed the history of U.S. foreign or military affairs, and are perhaps unaware of the background of U.S. military interventions abroad, but are concerned about the direction of our country toward a new war in the name of "freedom" and "protecting civilians."
The United States military has been intervening in other countries for a long time. In 1898, it seized the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico from Spain, and in 1917-18 became embroiled in World War I in Europe. In the first half of the 20th century it repeatedly sent Marines to "protectorates" such as Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. All these interventions directly served corporate interests, and many resulted in massive losses of civilians, rebels, and soldiers. Many of the uses of U.S. combat forces are documented in A History of U.S. Military Interventions since 1890: http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/interventions.html
U.S. involvement in World War II (1941-45) was sparked by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and fear of an Axis invasion of North America. Allied bombers attacked fascist military targets, but also fire-bombed German and Japanese cities such as Dresden and Tokyo, party under the assumption that destroying civilian neighborhoods would weaken the resolve of the survivors and turn them against their regimes. Many historians agree that fire- bombing's effect was precisely the opposite--increasing Axis civilian support for homeland defense, and discouraging potential coup attempts. The atomic bombing of Japan at the end of the war was carried out without any kind of advance demonstration or warning that may have prevented the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
The war in Korea (1950-53) was marked by widespread atrocities, both by North Korean/Chinese forces, and South Korean/U.S. forces. U.S. troops fired on civilian refugees headed into South Korea, apparently fearing they were northern infiltrators. Bombers attacked North Korean cities, and the U.S. twice threatened to use nuclear weapons. North Korea is under the same Communist government today as when the war began.
During the Middle East crisis of 1958, Marines were deployed to quell a rebellion in Lebanon, and Iraq was threatened with nuclear attack if it invaded Kuwait. This little-known crisis helped set U.S. foreign policy on a collision course with Arab nationalists, often in support of the region's monarchies.
In the early 1960s, the U.S. returned to its pre-World War II interventionary role in the Caribbean, directing the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs exile invasion of Cuba, and the 1965 bombing and Marine invasion of the Dominican Republic during an election campaign. The CIA trained and harbored Cuban exile groups in Miami, which launched terrorist attacks on Cuba, including the 1976 downing of a Cuban civilian jetliner near Barbados. During the Cold War, the CIA would also help to support or install pro-U.S. dictatorships in Iran, Chile, Guatemala, Indonesia, and many other countries around the world.
The U.S. war in Indochina (1960-75) pit U.S. forces against North Vietnam, and Communist rebels fighting to overthrow pro-U.S. dictatorships in South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. U.S. war planners made little or no distinction between attacking civilians and guerrillas in rebel-held zones, and U.S. "carpet-bombing" of the countryside and cities swelled the ranks of the ultimately victorious revolutionaries. Over two million people were killed in the war, including 55,000 U.S. troops. Less than a dozen U.S. citizens were killed on U.S. soil, in National Guard shootings or antiwar bombings. In Cambodia, the bombings drove the Khmer Rouge rebels toward fanatical leaders, who launched a murderous rampage when they took power in 1975.
Echoes of Vietnam reverberated in Central America during the 1980s, when the Reagan administration strongly backed the pro-U.S. regime in El Salvador, and right-wing exile forces fighting the new leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Rightist death squads slaughtered Salvadoran civilians who questioned the concentration of power and wealth in a few hands. CIA-trained Nicaraguan Contra rebels launched terrorist attacks against civilian clinics and schools run by the Sandinista government, and mined Nicaraguan harbors. U.S. troops also invaded the island nation of Grenada in 1983, to oust a new military regime, attacking Cuban civilian workers (even though Cuba had backed the leftist government deposed in the coup), and accidentally bombing a hospital.
The U.S. returned in force to the Middle East in 1980, after the Shi'ite Muslim revolution in Iran against Shah Pahlevi's pro-U.S. dictatorship. A troop and bombing raid to free U.S. Embassy hostages held in downtown Tehran had to be aborted in the Iranian desert. After the 1982 Israeli occupation of Lebanon, U.S. Marines were deployed in a neutral "peacekeeping" operation. They instead took the side of Lebanon's pro-Israel Christian government against Muslim rebels, and U.S. Navy ships rained enormous shells on Muslim civilian villages. Embittered Shi'ite Muslim rebels responded with a suicide bomb attack on Marine barracks, and for years seized U.S. hostages in the country. In retaliation, the CIA set off car bombs to assassinate Shi'ite Muslim leaders. Syria and the Muslim rebels emerged victorious in Lebanon.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, the U.S. launched a 1986 bombing raid on Libya, which it accused of sponsoring a terrorist bombing later tied to Syria. The bombing raid killed civilians, and may have led to the later revenge bombing of a U.S. jet over Scotland. Libya's Arab nationalist leader Muammar Qaddafi remained in power. The U.S. Navy also intervened against Iran during its war against Iraq in 1987-88, sinking Iranian ships and "accidentally" shooting down an Iranian civilian jetliner.
U.S. forces invaded Panama in 1989 to oust the nationalist regime of Manuel Noriega. The U.S. accused its former ally of allowing drug-running in the country, though the drug trade actually increased after his capture. U.S. bombing raids on Panama City ignited a conflagration in a civilian neighborhood, fed by stove gas tanks. Over 2,000 Panamanians were killed in the invasion to capture one leader.
The following year, the U.S. deployed forces in the Persian Gulf after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, which turned Washington against its former Iraqi ally Saddam Hussein. U.S. supported the Kuwaiti monarchy and the Muslim fundamentalist monarchy in neighboring Saudi Arabia against the secular nationalist Iraq regime. In January 1991, the U.S..and its allies unleashed a massive bombing assault against Iraqi government and military targets, in an intensity beyond the raids of World War II and Vietnam. Up to 200,000 Iraqis were killed in the war and its imemdiate aftermath of rebellion and disease, including many civilians who died in their villages, neighborhoods, and bomb shelters. The U.S. continued economic sanctions that denied health and energy to Iraqi civilians, who died by the hundreds of thousands, according to United Nations agencies. The U.S. also instituted "no-fly zones" and virtually continuous bombing raids, yet Saddam was politically bolstered as he was militarily weakened.
In the 1990s, the U.S. military led a series of what it termed "humanitarian interventions" it claimed would safeguard civilians. Foremost among them was the 1992 deployment in the African nation of Somalia, torn by famine and a civil war between clan warlords. Instead of remaining neutral, U.S. forces took the side of one faction against another faction, and bombed a Mogadishu neighborhood. Enraged crowds, backed by foreign Arab mercenaries, killed 18 U.S. soldiers, forcing a withdrawal from the country.
Other so-called "humanitarian interventions" were centered in the Balkan region of Europe, after the 1992 breakup of the multiethnic federation of Yugoslavia. The U.S. watched for three years as Serb forces killed Muslim civilians in Bosnia, before its launched decisive bombing raids in 1995. Even then, it never intervened to stop atrocities by Croatian forces against Muslim and Serb civilians, because those forces were aided by the U.S. In 1999, the U.S. bombed Serbia to force President Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw forces from the ethnic Albanian province of Kosovo, which was torn a brutal ethnic war. The bombing intensified Serbian expulsions and killings of Albanian civilians from Kosovo, and caused the deaths of thousands of Serbian civilians, even in cities that had voted strongly against Milosevic. When a NATO occupation force enabled Albanians to move back, U.S. forces did little or nothing to prevent similar atrocities against Serb and other non-Albanian civilians. The U.S. was viewed as a biased player, even by the Serbian democratic opposition that overthrew Milosevic the following year.
Even when the U.S. military had apparently defensive motives, it ended up attacking the wrong targets. After the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, the U.S. "retaliated" not only against Osama Bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan, but a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan that was mistakenly said to be a chemical warfare installation. Bin Laden retaliated by attacking a U.S. Navy ship docked in Yemen in 2000. After the 2001 terror attacks on the United States, the U.S. military is poised to again bomb Afghanistan, and possibly move against other states it accuses of promoting anti-U.S. "terrorism," such as Iraq and Sudan. Such a campaign will certainly ratchet up the cycle of violence, in an escalating series of retaliations that is the hallmark of Middle East conflicts. Afghanistan, like Yugoslavia, is a multiethnic state that could easily break apart in a new catastrophic regional war. Almost certainly more civilians would lose their lives in this tit-for-tat war on "terrorism" than the 3,000 civilians who died on September 11.
COMMON THEMES
Some common themes can be seen in many of these U.S. military interventions.
First, they were explained to the U.S. public as defending the lives and rights of civilian populations. Yet the military tactics employed often left behind massive civilian "collateral damage." War planners made little distinction between rebels and the civilians who lived in rebel zones of control, or between military assets and civilian infrastructure, such as train lines, water plants, agricultural factories, medicine supplies, etc. The U.S. public always believe that in the next war, new military technologies will avoid civilian casualties on the other side. Yet when the inevitable civilian deaths occur, they are always explained away as "accidental" or "unavoidable."
Second, although nearly all the post-World War II interventions were carried out in the name of "freedom" and "democracy," nearly all of them in fact defended dictatorships controlled by pro-U.S. elites. Whether in Vietnam, Central America, or the Persian Gulf, the U.S. was not defending "freedom" but an ideological agenda (such as defending capitalism) or an economic agenda (such as protecting oil company investments). In the few cases when U.S. military forces toppled a dictatorship--such as in Grenada or Panama--they did so in a way that prevented the country's people from overthrowing their own dictator first, and installing a new democratic government more to their liking.
Third, the U.S. always attacked violence by its opponents as "terrorism," "atrocities against civilians," or "ethnic cleansing," but minimized or defended the same actions by the U.S. or its allies. If a country has the right to "end" a state that trains or harbors terrorists, would Cuba or Nicaragua have had the right to launch defensive bombing raids on U.S. targets to take out exile terrorists? Washington's double standard maintains that an U.S. ally's action by definition "defensive," but that an enemy's retaliation is by definition "offensive."
Fourth, the U.S. often portrays itself as a neutral peacekeeper, with nothing but the purest humanitarian motives. After deploying forces in a country, however, it quickly divides the country or region into "friends" and "foes," and takes one side against another. This strategy tends to enflame rather than dampen a war or civil conflict, as shown in the cases of Somalia and Bosnia, and deepens resentment of the U.S. role.
Fifth, U.S. military intervention is often counterproductive even if one accepts U.S. goals and rationales. Rather than solving the root political or economic roots of the conflict, it tends to polarize factions and further destabilize the country. The same countries tend to reappear again and again on the list of 20th century interventions.
Sixth, U.S. demonization of an enemy leader, or military action against him, tends to strengthen rather than weaken his hold on power. Take the list of current regimes most singled out for U.S. attack, and put it alongside of the list of regimes that have had the longest hold on power, and you will find they have the same names. Qaddafi, Castro, Saddam, Kim, and others may have faced greater internal criticism if they could not portray themselves as Davids standing up to the American Goliath, and (accurately) blaming many of their countries' internal problems on U.S. economic sanctions.
One of the most dangerous ideas of the 20th century was that "people like us" could not commit atrocities against civilians.

• German and Japanese citizens believed it, but their militaries slaughtered millions of people.
• British and French citizens believed it, but their militaries fought brutal colonial wars in Africa and Asia.
• Russian citizens believed it, but their armies murdered civilians in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and elsewhere.
• Israeli citizens believed it, but their army mowed down Palestinians and Lebanese.
• Arabs believed it, but suicide bombers and hijackers targeted U.S. and Israeli civilians.
• U.S. citizens believed it, but their military killed hundreds of thousands in Vietnam, Iraq, and elsewhere.

Every country, every ethnicity, every religion, contains within it the capability for extreme violence. Every group contains a faction that is intolerant of other groups, and actively seeks to exclude or even kill them. War fever tends to encourage the intolerant faction, but the faction only succeeds in its goals if the rest of the group acquiesces or remains silent. The attacks of September 11 were not only a test for U.S. citizens attitudes' toward minority ethnic/racial groups in their own country, but a test for our relationship with the rest of the world. We must begin not by lashing out at civilians in Muslim countries, but by taking responsibility for our own history and our own actions, and how they have fed the cycle of violence.

 

[mentalfloss]

Re: Shed a tear for these people too.

Long list of terrorist attacks

Hmm.. looks like most of them are between 2001 and 2009. I haven't checked your link, so I might be wrong on this, but..

 

[Unforgiven]

Two forces square off. Sh!t's going to happen. There is no question that there are mad dog killers in the military. Does anyone think that they aren't drawn to it? The old saying, sure he's a savage, but he's our savage sums it up.
War is hell also a good illustration if we take it seriously. What would you rather? A nice clean extermination of people in an orderly and just manner? If only the bad guys would walk up to a prison and surrender, we could have something like that. But then who would feed the machine once all the really bad guys are gone?

We all want to leave it up to someone else to resolve these problems but it won't be resolved until each of us stands up and makes the effort to resolve it. Whether it's putting a muzzle on military operations, bridling capitalism so that our standards are observed anywhere our people do business and finding ways to negotiate anytime that it's possible to do so.

I can see that coming about once we find a way for every other place on Earth to put a leash and collar on their own rogue mad dog killers.

But those people have to make the same sacrifice we do.

 

[DaSleeper]

Short list :roll: of islamic terror attacks for 2010

TheReligionofPeace.com - List of Islamic Terror Attacks for 2010

The following is just the month of December..............

Date Country City Killed Injured Description
2010.12.31 Afghanistan Gulistan 1 0 A religious fanatic with a sniper rifle kills an Italian soldier at his base.
2010.12.31 Somalia Mogadishu 4 10 Four civilians are caught in the crossfire during an al-Shabaab ambush along a city street.
2010.12.31 Nigeria Abuja 4 12 Proponents of Islamic law detonate a bomb at a packed market, killing at least four patrons.
2010.12.31 Afghanistan Zabul 1 6 A civilian bleeds out following a Taliban attack.
2010.12.30 Nigeria Dala 4 8 Four people are murdered by Boko Haram Islamists.
2010.12.30 Afghanistan Helmand 14 4 The Taliban bomb a minibus packed with civilians, taking down at least fourteen.
2010.12.30 Iraq Baghdad 2 13 Coordinated Mujahideen attacks against Christian families leave at least two dead.
2010.12.30 Pakistan Sindh 3 0 Three intelligence personnel are killed in a suspected Taliban ambush.
2010.12.30 Iraq Kirkuk 1 0 Sunni terrorists gun down a man in his garden.
2010.12.29 Pakistan Khyber 1 2 A truck driver is taken down by a Muslim ambush.
2010.12.29 Philippines Mindanao 1 1 Muslim separatists toss a grenade into an army outpost, killing one.
2010.12.29 Iraq Mosul 4 4 A police chief and three others are cut down by three al-Qaeda suicide bombers.
2010.12.28 Pakistan Sohbatpur 3 0 Three member of a family are murdered in a suspected sectarian attack.
2010.12.28 Thailand Narathiwat 2 0 A man and his elderly father are murdered by Islamic gunmen.
2010.12.28 Thailand Pattani 1 0 Muslims shoot a Buddhist civilian to death as he is riding his motorcycle.
2010.12.28 Thailand Pattani 2 0 A Buddhist man and his wife are machine-gunned by Islamic terrorists in front of their home.
2010.12.28 Iraq Tarmiah 5 0 Terrorists abduct and execute five men.
2010.12.28 Pakistan Karachi 1 0 Tehreek-e-Taliban militants shoot a tea vender to death in his stall.
2010.12.28 Afghanistan Paktika 1 7 An Afghan security official is taken down by a Shahid suicide bomber.
2010.12.28 Nigeria Maiduguri 3 0 Boko Haram Islamists kill three people at a hospital.
2010.12.28 Somalia Bakara 8 32 Eight civilians are crushed to death by an Islamist rocket attack on their market.
2010.12.28 Iraq Mosul 5 3 Five Iraqis are blown to bits in a car bomb blast.
2010.12.27 Afghanistan Kandahar 3 26 A Taliban car bombing outside a bank leaves three people dead.
2010.12.27 Iraq Ramadi 17 40 Twin suicide bombers take down seventeen Iraqis, including women and children waiting in line.
2010.12.27 Iraq Dujail 1 1 Jihadi bombers take down a Catholic woman and injure a family member.
2010.12.27 Pakistan Karachi 5 3 A young girl is among three people shot to death in separate sectarian attacks.
2010.12.26 Pakistan Mastung 1 0 A truck driver's life is snuffed out by Islamist snipers.
2010.12.25 Philippines Sulu 0 11 A priest and a 9-year-old girl are among eleven injured when Islamists set off a bomb inside a chapel.
2010.12.25 Pakistan Bajaur 47 81 Nearly fifty people lining up for emergency food are blown into pieces by a female suicide bomber. Children are among the dead.
2010.12.24 Iraq Haswa 5 4 Three children are among five family members slain by a sectarian bomb attack on their home.
2010.12.24 Afghanistan Balkh 1 3 The Taliban murder a German aid worker trying to help the locals build roads.
2010.12.24 Iraq Samarrah 2 0 Two Iraqis are killed by Jihadi bombers.
2010.12.24 Nigeria Jos 86 74 At least eighty-six people are killed in a series of Islamic bomb blasts and attacks, mostly targeting Christmas Eve church services. The dead include choir members hacked to death.
2010.12.24 Pakistan Mohmand 11 10 Religious hardliners launch a surprise assault on a local army post, leaving eleven defenders dead.
2010.12.24 Thailand Narathiwat 1 1 Muslim separatists walk into a tea shop and machine-gun two patrons.
2010.12.24 Pakistan Khyber 1 0 A guard is killed when Islamic militants attack a press club building.
2010.12.24 Yemen Zinjibar 1 0 al-Qaeda gunmen shoot a local soldier to death.
2010.12.23 Afghanistan Jalalabad 1 10 Taliban bombers take out a civilian with a motorcycle bomb.
2010.12.23 Iraq Baghdad 1 0 A Sunni civilian is murdered in a sectarian shooting attack.
2010.12.23 Thailand Narathiwat 2 2 Two off-duty security personnel riding a motorcycle are shot to death by Muslim militants.
2010.12.23 Russia Shalushki 2 5 Islamic militants gun down two village policemen.
2010.12.23 Afghanistan Kunduz 1 5 Children are among the casualties of a Shahid suicide blast.
2010.12.23 Pakistan Baidnami 3 0 Tehreek-e-Taliban militants ambush and kill three policemen.
2010.12.22 Pakistan Mohmand 1 3 A civilian is killed in a bomb blast.
2010.12.21 Thailand Pattani 2 0 A married couple selling pork are shot to death in their stall by Holy Warriors.
2010.12.21 Thailand Pattani 1 0 A 43-year-old construction worker is murdered by Muslim gunmen.
2010.12.21 Nigeria Turu 3 2 Angry Muslims armed with swords and machetes assault a group of local Christian villagers, killing three.
2010.12.20 Somalia Mogadishu 5 5 An old woman is among five who bleed out following a vicious al-Shabaab roadside bombing.
2010.12.20 Somalia Mogadishu 5 10 Five civilians are killed when Islamic militia mortar a commercial district.
2010.12.20 Iraq Mosul 2 0 A university professor and a young woman are gunned down by 'Freedom Fighters'.
2010.12.20 Kenya Nairobi 3 23 Suspected Somali Islamists plant a bomb on a bus, which leaves three passengers dead.
2010.12.20 Pakistan Dera Bugti 2 0 A father and son are shot to death in their hotel in a suspected sectarian attack.
2010.12.19 Iraq Kirkuk 2 0 An oil company employee is among two people gunned down by Mujahideen.
2010.12.19 Afghanistan Kabul 13 17 Thirteen security personnel are killed in two attacks, one by Fedayeen suicide bombers.
2010.12.19 Israel Jerusalem 1 1 An American woman on a Christian mission is kidnapped, tied up and stabbed to death by Arab warriors.
2010.12.18 Afghanistan Balkh 1 3 Taliban-linked militants murder a Bangladeshi engineer and take three others hostage.
2010.12.18 Afghanistan Kandahar 2 11 A Shahid suicide bomber sends two civilians to Allah.
2010.12.18 Russia Kabardino- Balkaria 7 2 Seven hunters are shot to death by Islamic militants in a brutal ambush.
2010.12.18 Thailand Yala 2 0 Two guards providing security to Buddhists are gunned down by Religion of Peace proponents.
2010.12.18 Thailand Yala 2 0 Islamists slash the throats of two people.
2010.12.17 Pakistan Hangu 6 8 Six villagers, including women and children, are crushed to death by a terrorist mortar barrage.
2010.12.17 Afghanistan Heart 14 4 Fourteen members of the same family are taken apart by a Taliban roadside attack on their minibus.
2010.12.17 Yemen Abyan 3 7 Suspected al-Qaeda militants open fire on a group of local soldiers, killing three.
2010.12.16 Iraq Dujail 2 6 Two Shia pilgrims are sent to Allah by Sunni bombers.
2010.12.16 Iraq Baghdad 6 6 Gunmen and bombers take down six Iraqis in separate attacks.
2010.12.16 Pakistan Muharram 1 25 A child is left dead after Sunnis throw a grenade into a funeral procession.
2010.12.16 Somalia Mogadishu 10 24 At least ten civilians are shot to pieces during a sustained al-Shabaab attack in a commercial area.
2010.12.15 Russia Nalchik 1 0 A moderate cleric is shot in front of his home for 'resisting religious extremism.'
2010.12.15 Pakistan Quetta 3 0 Sectarian Jihadis gun down two brothers and a child.
2010.12.15 Iran Chahbahar 41 83 Forty-one Shias, including women and children, are blasted to death in their own mosque by a Sunni suicide bomber.
2010.12.15 Afghanistan Kandahar 3 9 Three children are disassembled by fundamentalists, who hide a bomb on a bicycle.
2010.12.14 Iraq Diyala 2 22 Two Shia pilgrims are blown to bits by Sunni bombers.
2010.12.14 Pakistan Peshawar 3 1 Sunnis attack an 'unIslamic' shrine and shoot three Sufi infidels to death.
2010.12.14 Afghanistan Kabul 3 5 Three local soldiers are murdered in separate Taliban attacks.
2010.12.14 Bangladesh Rajshahi 1 0 A woman dies from injuries suffered by a lashing ordered by Muslim clergy over an adultery charge.
2010.12.14 Pakistan Mohmand 2 6 Muslim radicals attack a police station and kill two officers.
2010.12.14 Iraq Baghdad 3 19 Sectarian rivals murder three more Shia pilgrims with a roadside bomb.
2010.12.13 Iraq Baghdad 2 0 Terrorists blow up a little girl and her mother.
2010.12.13 Pakistan Gulabad 3 5 Two children are among three killed when Islamists detonate a shrapnel bomb next to their school bus.
2010.12.13 Iraq Hilla 2 1 A married couple is murdered by Muslim gunmen, who also wound their son.
2010.12.13 Iraq Diyala 4 20 Four Shiite pilgrims are murdered by a Sunni suicide bomber.
2010.12.13 Somalia Mogadishu 12 30 A dozen civilians are caught in the crossfire during an al-Shabaab ambush.
2010.12.13 Pakistan Charsadda 2 0 Two brothers are shot to death by Islamic militants while on their way home.
2010.12.12 Pakistan Kurram 3 7 Three children are killed when Sunni militants fire rockets into a Shia residential area.
2010.12.12 Thailand Narathiwat 2 0 A 67-year-old woman and her son-in-law are shot to death by Muslim militants.
2010.12.12 Iraq Ramadi 13 41 A Shahid suicide bomber sends thirteen Iraqis straight to Allah.
2010.12.12 Iraq Baqubah 2 3 Two Shia pilgrims are taken down by a Fedayeen suicide bomber.
2010.12.12 Afghanistan Kandahar 8 4 Six U.S. and two local soldiers are killed by a suicide bomber at their base.
2010.12.12 UK Feltham 0 1 Muslim prisoners batter a guard while yelling 'death to the Kuffar'.
2010.12.11 Dagestan Gubden 1 0 A mosque imam is murdered by Religion of Peace rivals.
2010.12.11 Pakistan Peshawar 2 5 Islamists open fire on a police squad, killing two members.
2010.12.11 Pakistan Peshawar 2 0 Two police are gunned down by Islamic terrorists.
2010.12.11 Sweden Stockholm 0 2 A car bomb and suicide attack on a shopping center leaves two injured.
2010.12.11 Thailand Yala 1 3 Muslim terrorists murder a Thai soldier.
2010.12.10 Iraq Meshahda 3 0 Three chicken farmers are gunned down in cold blood by Sunni radicals.
2010.12.10 Iraq Baghdad 2 7 Two civilians at a coffee shop are blown to bits by Jihad bombers.
2010.12.10 Pakistan Hangu 17 20 Seventeen people are ripped to shreds when a Sunni suicide car bomber plows into a Shia hospital.
2010.12.10 Afghanistan Khan Neshin 15 4 Fifteen civilians on their way to a local bazaar are dismembered by Taliban bombers.
2010.12.09 Somalia Bosaso 2 0 Islamic militia detonate a roadside bomb underneath two Somalis.
2010.12.09 Iraq Baghdad 6 6 Six Iraqis are killed in separate Mujahideen attacks.
2010.12.08 Iraq Tarmiya 1 3 Muslim terrorists shoot a girl to death in her home.
2010.12.08 Pakistan Kohat 19 32 A teen suicide bomber targets a crowd of Shia pilgrims at a bus stop, sending nearly two dozen to Allah, mostly women and children.
2010.12.08 Iraq Taji 3 16 Jihadis take down three civilians with a car bomb.
2010.12.08 Afghanistan Kunar 2 2 Two civilians are murdered by Taliban attackers.
2010.12.08 Pakistan Hangu 1 1 Islamic militants abduct seven teachers and shoot a policeman to death.
2010.12.07 India Varanasi 1 32 A 2-year-old girl is left dead following a Mujahideen blast at a Hindu temple.
2010.12.07 Iraq Tal Afar 1 3 Fundamentalists bomb a computer shop, killing an employee.
2010.12.06 Iraq Baqubah 3 4 Three children bleed out when terrorists booby-trap a home.
2010.12.06 Afghanistan Badghis 3 1 The Taliban kill three Afghan troops in a rocket attack.
2010.12.06 Pakistan Mohmand 45 65 Two Holy Warriors massacre over forty innocents with a dual suicide blast at a gathering of tribal leaders in the name of 'enforcing Sharia.'
2010.12.05 Afghanistan Gardez 4 18 A Shahid suicide bomber detonates near a small marketplace, taking four innocents with him.
2010.12.05 Iraq Baghdad 2 0 Four Holy Warriors bind and stab an elderly Christian couple to death in their home.
2010.12.05 Dagestan Khasavyurt 1 0 A suspected separatist shoots a government official to death in a cafe
2010.12.04 Nigeria Maiduguri 3 6 A child is among three civilians left dead by a Boko Haram ambush.
2010.12.04 Iraq Baghdad 5 17 Five Shia pilgrims from Iran are brutally slain by Sunni bombers near a shrine.
2010.12.04 Iraq Baghdad 6 42 Terrorists bomb a marketplace, leaving at least a half dozen shoppers dead.
2010.12.04 Iraq Baghdad 2 28 Two Shia pilgrims are sent to Allah by Sunni car bombers.
2010.12.03 Nigeria Nwachukwu 7 4 Christian women and children are slaughtered in their homes by Muslim attackers in a midnight raid.
2010.12.03 Kenya Nairobi 1 2 Somali terrorists throw a grenade at a Kenyan police vehicle, killing an occupant.
2010.12.03 Thailand Narathiwat 1 0 A 36-year-old man is shot to death in his home by Muslim militants.
2010.12.03 Thailand Pattani 2 1 Two men are murdered by Mujahid gunmen in separate attacks.
2010.12.03 Thailand Yala 1 0 A 41-year-old rubber plantation worker is gunned down by Islamic separatists while walking home.
2010.12.03 Thailand Narathiwat 1 0 Muslim terrorists shoot a Buddhist to death in his home.
2010.12.03 Iraq Mosul 1 0 A sanitation worker is taken down by Muslim gunmen.
2010.12.03 Philippines Langayen 2 0 Two village guards are gunned down by Moro Islamists.
2010.12.03 Dagestan Makhachkala 1 0 Suspected fundamentalists gun down the head of the country's Judo program.
2010.12.02 Pakistan Sukai 1 0 A local truck driver is gunned down by Taliban radicals.
2010.12.02 Iraq Abu Ghraib 2 1 A Jihad blast at a water plant leaves two dead.
2010.12.02 Iraq Baghdad 1 0 A woman is shot to death in her home by Islamic 'insurgents'.
2010.12.01 Iraq Qaim 2 2 Two Iraqis die from shrapnel injuries following an Islamist bombing.
2010.12.01 Iraq Baghdad 1 0 A human rights activist is murdered by Mujahid gunmen.
2010.12.01 India Srinagar 2 0 Mujahideen shoot two local soldiers to death as they are guarding a market.