…to kill a “legitimate target,” is a day I will be interested to see, though I don’t look forward to it.
Who qualifies as a legitimate target? Anyone from the President on down who was involved in the drone assassination program. Any group being assassinated by American drones has the right to strike back, in my opinion. Since America is willing to strike at weddings, funerals, convoys, and more to “hit their targets” (and willing to kill their children and families), well…
It is hard to even imagine the squealing. Entire pig farms would not suffice to convey the outraged cacophony, I am sure.
Legitimate targets, no matter who happens to be standing nearby. This may not be what America “says” is its policy, but it is the policy in action.
(Or maybe they’ll bomb a hospital. Probably won’t be able to bomb it all night, though.)
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Peter VE
I’ve been reading accounts of the stress inflicted on the drone pilots. I’ve thought that it’s only a matter of time before one of them turns a training drone against the ruling class.
thwap
Chomsky’s been saying that for years.
You’ll notice that for bullies, even the idea of their victims fighting back is offensive.
fvd
I’ll point out again that the preponderance of drone strikes are “signature strikes”, i.e. they target people, basically, for “looking too Muslim” on the wholly unsupported pretext that people who look like that are more likely to be terrorists.
Essentially it’s officially-sponsored ethnic hate-killing using “fighting terrorism” as a fig-leaf.
It’s a fig-leaf it does not deserve, and no-one should pretend to be fooled by it.
Steeleweed
Sometimes PTSD is caused by the actions of the enemy or the stress of being vulnerable 24×7. However, a major cause of PTSD is that people are forced to commit acts which they know are evil, which run counter to who they feel they are. It destroys their sense-of-self and basically their personality collapses. Sometimes they collapse into incapacity, but sometimes their attempt to maintain their ego is acted out violently.
Tom
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-forces-setting-base-northern-syria-near-russian-forces-qamishli-airfield-report-2277448
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35391968
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Okay, how is the fact we are bombing IS not a military solution? How is building a base in Syrian Territory without Regime Permission not far from a Russian Base being built with Regime Per…
Oh fuck it, I give up.
Bill Hicks
@me
I am indeed the former Downward Sprial blogger. Unfortunately, I suffered a nasty bout of pancreatic cancer that nearly killed me, so I try to keep my stress to a minimum these days. That means limiting how much time I spend thinking about this stuff. 🙂
Peter*
There is no excuse or rational apology for Obama’s Drone Wars and their targeting practices but who in their right mind in these countries already under attack would decide it was now OK to parade through the countryside shooting their weapons to celebrate so and so’s wedding?
mc
Bill Hicks
I understand your situation even though I miss your fuller commentaries. I still checked out your blog occasionally and was afraid you’d kicked it. Good to know you’re still around and to get even minimum thoughts and ideas once in a while.
reslez
I find myself less surprised by outrage than the lack of it. I imagine the situation in Weimar Germany was much the same. All that’s necessary is to target the wedding/funeral of recent, Middle Eastern-looking, immigrants. Some tired liberals looking downcast on CNN and their counterparts fist thumping on Fox and it would blow over in 3 days.